ABU DHABI HSBC GOLF CHAMPIONSHIP

November 4, 2025

Marco Penge

Yas Links

Press Conference

CLARE BODEL: We are delighted to welcome Marco here to the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship your first time in the Playoffs after a pretty remarkable season, if you can sum up how it feels to be here.

MARCO PENGE: It's obviously a tournament I've always wanted to be a part of. Yeah, it's been an awesome week already. Gone early over to Dubai to do a little bit of prep, and I was lucky to practise with Tommy a little bit and play a couple holes with him.

Yeah, it's been a good week already and I think as the week goes on it's obviously going to get better playing with Rory and Tyrrell Thursday.

CLARE BODEL: You're less than 500 points behind Rory coming to the end of The Race to Dubai. How do you approach that? Obviously the focus is on trying to win this tournament, I guess.

MARCO PENGE: Yeah, my goal is to try -- obviously my goal once I didn't qualify for the Ryder Cup. I think I played Irish Open, and I thought, now my goal is to catch Rory. That goal is kind of over in a way, but now that I've won in Spain and got me back in the mix, I'm trying to win this week or next week or just play as good as I can and see where that ends up.

Q. Played much with Rory before?

MARCO PENGE: No. It will be my first time. I actually did ask him in Ireland a couple months ago to get a practise round at some point but haven't crossed paths and timing's not worked out. Yeah, I thought I'd try and get a practice round with him next week. I think it would be nice.

Q. Has that been the goal to play with him?

MARCO PENGE: Yeah, definitely. For me, he's the best player in my generation of kind of watching golf. He's been so successful, and I think a lot of guys in my age group really look up to him not just as a golfer but as a person.

Yeah, I compare a lot of parts of my game to him. I am excited to see what I think my strengths are compared to him on Thursday and see where I can improve.

Q. You don't seem to be intimidated but will there be any thinking, "Oh, my God"?

MARCO PENGE: Yeah, you can feeling -- I know on Thursday morning when I step on the tee I'm going to have some adrenaline because I'm playing with one of the best players in the world for the first time. I don't think I'm going to be too nervous. It's purely the adrenaline, similar to how I felt in the playoff at the Spanish Open. I've got a lot of things in place to prepare for that. Fully aware of it already in my head that that's how I'm going to feel. But I clarified with my psychologist that I tend to play my best golf when I feel like that.

It's nothing to be scared of. I just want to enjoy the moment and enjoy the experience, being in this position and playing with the top players of the world.

Q. (On longest drive off the tee.)

MARCO PENGE: I don't know. Obviously I want to be past him and I'm sure he wants to be hitting it past me. It will be a bit of a flex on that sort of thing. Bringing their best on the day will probably be the longest. We'll see.

Q. Congratulations on your season. It's only two years ago since you were on HotelPlanner Tour winning the Order of Merit. Have you ever played in the UAE in any tournaments before?

MARCO PENGE: Yeah, I remember playing in the Desert Classic my first year out there. It was obviously my favourite tournament last year, and I was unfortunate to miss out this year.

Yeah, played a bit in Bahrain last year and Qatar. Feel like I've got enough experience playing in the desert, as you see. I feel like it suits my game pretty well. The courses are pretty long, and there's definitely room for me to hit driver compared to some of the courses back in Europe.

Q. Have you played all 18?

MARCO PENGE: I played nine yesterday with Laurie Canter and nine today with my best mate, Andy Sullivan. A couple of games between us.

Q. You're fit to get your dual-card status. Have you thought ahead of these two weeks on what your potential schedule will be for 2026, or are you just trying to get the next two weeks over the line?

MARCO PENGE: I've been preparing for next year. Went to America after winning in Spain with my wife to try to house hunt and all that stuff and get some things in place.

Yeah, I've looked at the schedule and fully aware that I think that if you're top 30 in the world before an elevated event, you get into that tournament.

Yeah, I've done it. I'm a numbers guy, so I've done a bit of math. Worked out where I want to be. But yeah, you know, always trying to be playing in the majors and the elevated events and start my season over there and come back over here to play tournaments like this.

Yeah, I don't think the amount of tournaments I'll be playing will be sliding down. I think it will probably only get a bit more. I've competed and this is a start of four events on the trot, so yeah, I'm looking forward to it.

Q. You talk about that aggression, and only 12 months ago you were essentially trying to save your card. Do you have to pinch yourself where you are now, or did you always have that confidence that you could get to this level?

MARCO PENGE: I think I have always believed in my ability, and I know what my potential is.

I think my career's been pretty good, in a way. I had a couple years on the Euro Pro, and then got my Challenge Tour card and kind of COVID hit. So had a year waited there. Then I had a year out being injured.

I feel like a lot of my progression has been really good. Just doesn't look as good as it may seem. Seems like I've kind of come out of nowhere. But every tour that I've played, I've kind of got off the second year.

Yeah, I can't remember the rest of the question.

Q. You spoke very candidly on a Podcast about your ADHD diagnosis. How has that changed anything?

MARCO PENGE: Yeah, definitely, that was a perfect example -- I can't remember the question. (Laughter)

I really understood myself and I understand me as a person now. I've got a lot of things in place if I feel a certain way or things are getting too overstimulated for my brain.

Yeah, I feel much better that I understand myself, and I think it's played a massive part in my career and my success. This year has been unbelievable to have won three times.

And going back to your question a couple minutes ago, I still am in disbelief in a way that I am in the position that I am. Not from the point that I don't think I'm good enough, just from the point of how fast it's happened.

Just to be in the presence of the Ryder Cup players, spending some time with Tommy last week was so good. He's asking me questions, kind of picking my brain and I said to him, like, "I think you're asking the wrong guy. It should be the other way around." Just shows what the top players do. They are always trying to get better. I gave him a couple of nuggets, and I'm sure he'll give me plenty down the line.

Q. What nuggets did you give him? I want to know what you would teach Tommy Fleetwood.

MARCO PENGE: He was just asking me some questions about driving the ball. Picking my brain a little bit. Kind of forced me into having a driver session with him. I was kind of done for the day, and I actually pulled a chair up behind him to watch him for half an hour, but ended up both of us kind of helping each other in a way. It's obviously probably an area of his game that he might feel he can get a little more out of, or he sees me was one of the best drivers of the ball, which statistically I kind of am.

So yeah, just a friendly chat of what I kind of do and what I see and what I think. We played the next day, and he was kind of saying that he's going to hit the Marco ball down here and I'm like, I can't even enjoy myself -- not sure where you're getting that from.

Q. You've won three times now. Do you feel like now that you've almost transformed into a guy where you just hit it and get the job done?

MARCO PENGE: Yeah, trying to get as many wins as possible. Just seeing that asterisk next to my name, when I first won on tour, I was so buzzing. And now I've got three wins, I want to get into double-digits sort of thing in my career.

Yeah, I love playing on the DP World Tour, and I'm looking forward to playing the PGA TOUR next year but I would have happily stayed here for the year. But I think the PGA TOUR, you know, I think it will be great to play both.

Q. What are your expectations for 2026, obviously playing a full season on the PGA TOUR but also, have you started looking ahead towards the Masters for accommodation or playing, any practise trips?

MARCO PENGE: I think it's easy from the outside to look at my progression and think, He'll go to the PGA TOUR and smash it. I think it's going to be a lot tougher than most people think, change of environment, having to move my family to America, new courses, playing in America; that I don't have much experience and playing against the best players in the world. I'm certainly aware it's not going to be easy.

I'm also excited to play the majors, and especially the Masters. It's going to be awesome. I just want to enjoy -- just enjoy because the last six months for me, it has changed so much, and it can easily do that the other way.

Q. How much have you learned from Andy Sullivan over the last two seasons?

MARCO PENGE: Yeah, him and Paul Waring have really took me under their wing in a way. They were a massive support for me when I was suspended. Still a massive support for me when I'm successful. I kind of feel like I'm on the rise with them in a way, even though they are -- yeah, Andy, I look up to. He's an ex-Ryder Cup player, and he's been out here for a long time. Got plenty of wins himself. You know, I always talk to him about things that if I need advice, etc.

CLARE BODEL: Thank you, everyone. Marco, good luck this week.