Suspended English golfer wagered on Ryder Cup and majors
English professional golfer Marco Penge has issued a statement after he was suspended for three months for gambling on golf.
Marco Penge has issued a lengthy statement after he was suspended for three months for gambling on golf.
The DP World Tour revealed on 18 December that the 26-year-old 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 has confirmed.
The Englishman has now released a statement of his own, 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 this 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," he wrote.
"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.
He will able to play again from 13 February 2025.
Penge said he will be in the field for the Magical Kenya Open.
The golfer earned promotion to the DP World Tour after topping the Challenge Tour's order of merit in 2023.
He retained his status at the final regular event of last season.
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