Class act Penge wins Challenge Tour Grand Final

Mizuno’s Marco Penge has completed an incredible personal comeback – winning the Challenge Tour Rolex Grand Final in Majorca to finish at the head of the 2023 rankings and take a full DP World Tour card for 2024.  The 25-year-old posted a closing three under par round of 69 to move to ten under par for the week and secure an emphatic six stroke victory.

Penge cruised to victory on the final day of the Rolex Final. Getty Images

Despite qualifying for his 2nd Open Championship, the rest of Penge’s 2023 season had been somewhat of an anti-climax until winning the Open de Portugal just six weeks ago.  Penge had been in 60th place in the Challenge Tour Rankings before his late season charge.

Penge played Mizuno’s ST-X 230 driver, ST-Z 5 wood, Mizuno Pro Fli-Hi #2 iron and Mizuno Pro 221 irons (4-PW) to victory.

Penge celebrates his much anticipated rise to the DP World Tour. Getty Images.

The uniquely gifted Penge was tipped for stardom through a decorated amateur career, before a knee reconstruction put a serious roadblock in his path.  Signing to Mizuno’s Next Gen project in 2022, Penge needed to rebuild his body and career before powering through the end of the 2023 season.  Mizuno’s David Matthews elaborated;

Mizuno and Marco crossed paths at the right time for both of us.  Mizuno needed to regenerate its tour talent and Marco needed a fresh start with a manufacturer that would put him first.  It couldn’t have worked out better and although its a business relationship, its started to feel very personal.  We knew that Marco needed to get to the top of the game to showcase his talents, and alongside the rest of his team, felt a responsibility to help him get there.  Working with a player as talented as Marco is a responsibility.

Mizuno’s Tour Operations Manager Alex Thorne was the first at Mizuno to meet with Marco.

It was obvious straight away, even with Marco’s injuries that he was a special player.  His driving and ball speeds are obvious, but his game was so well rounded.  We’ve all known that Marco’s toughest challenge would be to get to the DP Tour, where the courses are longer and his natural gifts can come to the fore.  It’s rare that Marco can pull driver regularly on the Challenge Tour – once he can, he’s going to be a real problem at a higher level of the game.  He’s a couple of years behind where he would have been without the injury, but he has the potential to be a multiple DP Tour winner and more.

Penge’s pedigree and experience was the difference on the final day. Getty Images

Penge’s natural advantage with driver has often been taken away on the Challenge Tour’s shorter layouts. Getty Images

Penge’s natural advantage with driver is expected to pay greater dividends on the longer layouts on the DP World Tour. Getty Images

Penge also had a Mizuno ST-Z 5 5 wood in play at the Grand Final. Getty Images

Penge was one of Mizuno’s first European recruits to it’s ‘Next Gen’ project to develop future tour winners. Getty Images