Suspended English golfer returns to win first DP World Tour event in China

Marco Penge clinched his first DP World Tour title at the Hainan Open just four months after being suspended for breaching betting rules. 

Penge, 26, closed with a final-round 67 on the Blackstone Course at Mission Hills Resort Haikou to see out a three-shot victory on 17-under par. 

Four birdies in the space of a five-hole stretch to start the back nine saw Penge pull clear of the chasing pack. 

The Englishman won €382,588.89 for winning the 2025 Hainan Open. 

Sean Crocker and Kristoffer Reitan finished in a tie for second on 14-under par. 

Rasmus Neegaard-Petersen continued to impress with a solo fourth on 13-under par, while Martin Couvra rounded out the top five on 12-under par. 

The victory also seals Penge's first appearance at the US PGA from 15-18 May.

It will mark his third career major start following two previous missed cuts at The Open. 

Penge has picked up one of three spots in the 2025 U.S. PGA at Quail Hollow Club via the DP World Tour alongside Keita Nakajima and Eugenio Chacarra. 

Suspended English pro wins first DP World Tour title

Penge's first win on the DP World Tour comes just four months after Penge was suspended for gambling on golf.

The DP World Tour revealed on 18 December that Penge was also fined £2,000 for breaching the integrity programme.

Penge did not bet on himself during tournaments, a spokesperson for the Wentworth-based circuit confirmed.

The Englishman released a statement of his own at the time, claiming he thought he was able to gamble on the game providing it wasn't on himself or tournaments he was competing in.

In his statement, Penge explained he was informed by the Tour last April that a betting agency got in touch with the circuit, informing them of bets he placed in 2022.

Penge said the average stake of his bets were £24 and he profited to the tune of £250.

Of those bets, 68 per cent were placed before he took the Tour's 'integrity programme education course' last March, he wrote. 

"All of my bets were positive bets (meaning betting on someone to win rather than lose) and a majority of them were in the majors and Ryder Cup," wrote Penge at the time of his suspension at the end of 2024. 

"My bets were all for entertainment purposes to make watching golf more fun - just like most would do if it was something like the Grand National or other sporting events."

He added: "I genuinely thought it was okay to bet on golf as long as it wasn't on myself or tournaments I was competing in.

"After I had found out that I had breached the rules and revisited the integrity policy at greater depth, it was only then that I realised this wasn't the case."

Penge claimed his actions were 'a genuine and honest mistake'.

"I will never ever make the same mistake again," he wrote.

See the full statement here:

Penge's suspension took effect on 13 December 2024. 

He was able to play again from 13 February 2025 at the Magical Kenya Open.

The Englishman has made four top-20 finishes since making his return to the DP World Tour, highlighted by a first victory at the Hainan Open. 

Penge, who turned pro in 2017, came through both the PGA EuroPro Tour and Challenge Tour before earning his DP World Tour pro card in 2024.

A year later in his second season and in his 47th start on the circuit, and Penge is now a DP World Tour winner. 

Scroll down for his comments... 

"This obviously means the world to me," said an emotional Penge after his three-shot victory in China.

"It's something that I've always dreamt of achieving - winning on the biggest stage. After my time off (for breaching the DP World Tour's Integrity Program), it was the thing that I wanted to really prove to myself and prove to everyone, to show what a player I am.

"We spend a lot of time away from home. All of us lads are doing this for our wives, our families, our kids - to be able to say that I've won on the DP World Tour when my son's a little older and kind of be a hero to him.

"Before this Swing started, I said to my caddie, I think it was in Singapore, I said my goal is to get in the US PGA Championship. That's something that I'd love to do. Obviously coming here, I hadn't had a top five or anything like that, so I'd kind of forgotten about it a little bit, but it popped in my head last night.

"I thought, well, if I win tomorrow, maybe I might get in the PGA and I've already qualified for The Open. To be able to play against the best players in the world and see where I'm at compared to them would just be an unbelievable experience and something I'm looking forward to.

"I'm the person driving the car, my family and my team are all the components of the car. Without them, I wouldn't achieve what I've achieved today and my whole career, really. I talk to them on a daily basis and they keep me hungry. They keep me accountable and I couldn't appreciate their support anymore."

View full Hainan Open scores here