Marco Penge held his nerve to claim victory at the 2025 Open de España presented by Madrid, defeating Dan Brown in a dramatic play-off after a tense final day that saw wild momentum swings, injury struggles, and flashes of brilliance from all contenders.
Brown produced a superb closing round of 67, despite repeated interruptions for treatment to his right shoulder and neck, to join Penge on 15 under par. Penge, who had started the day four shots ahead, birdied the first extra hole to seal his third DP World Tour title of the season, adding to his wins at the Hainan Classic in April and the Danish Golf Championship in August.
The victory also earns him a coveted place in both The Open Championship and The Masters next year.
“It was such a battle out there,” said Penge. “Dan and Joel played great today, they were holing putts and I just couldn’t really get it in the hole, it felt like I was really up against it.
But I felt like I managed myself really well and I actually think tee to green, I feel like I played really solid. It doesn’t matter the putts, I think I used them all yesterday, but obviously holing that one there was worth the wait.”
Brown’s Grit and Brilliance
Penge stumbled early, sending his opening drive into the trees for a bogey. Brown seized the moment with a spectacular 55-foot birdie putt at the second, rolling it up and over a ridge from the front-left fringe.
“Not one you’re expecting to hole,” he said with typical understatement, moments before draining another long effort — a 37-foot eagle putt at the third — to move within one shot of the lead.
Although a double-bogey at the next hole halted his charge, Brown fought back with a birdie at the seventh, where Penge dropped a shot after finding an awkward lie by a bunker.
Joel Girrbach, the third member of the final group, also surged into contention with birdies at the fourth, eighth, and ninth holes, joining the leaders on 14 under before giving one back at the tenth. “I just came here hoping to keep my card,” Girrbach had admitted on Saturday — but by day’s end, he had done far more than that.
Brown’s determination shone through the pain. He received treatment on the 12th tee before striking a superb approach to set up a birdie on 13. Despite clear discomfort, he added another at 15, playing several minutes behind his partners after further medical attention.
All three contenders birdied the 16th, with Girrbach holing brilliantly from 21 feet, before parring the 17th. Penge held a one-shot lead going down the last, but Brown’s birdie from the fringe forced the play-off after Penge could only make par from a bunker.
Girrbach’s birdie on 18 secured third place outright and, far from merely retaining his card, guaranteed him a spot in the DP World Tour Play-offs.
The Deciding Moment
Returning to the 18th for the play-off, Brown’s tee shot came to rest just short of the green, while Penge found the left rough. Both left themselves testing birdie putts after their chips and Penge calmly rolled his in from ten feet to clinch the title.
“I was getting a little frustrated at times but I was reminding myself I was so patient the first three rounds, and that’s the reason I played the way I did, so I just tried to stay in the same sort of mindset,” Penge said. “Credit to the lads, they did unbelievable to catch me, and I’m just very grateful that I can be the one that wins.”
Augusta bound
Looking ahead to Augusta, he added: “It’s crazy. It’s a golf course that I’ve always wanted to play, because I feel like my game sets up really good for it. My goal was to get in the top 50 in the world by the end of the year. I think that made it a little easier playing the play-off, knowing that if I don’t win, I’m still going to be at the Masters. I tried to do a bit of reverse psychology there but no, I’m looking forward to it.”
Final Standings
Tom McKibbin finished fourth on 12 under after birdieing the last for a 69. Joakim Lagergren, Jayden Schaper, Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen, and Ugo Coussaud shared fifth on 11 under.
Local favourite Jon Rahm signed off with a brilliant 65, finishing at 10 under, level with Ángel Ayora, David Puig, and Alex Fitzpatrick. Fitzpatrick, who made 13 straight pars before eagling the 14th from a bunker and birdieing the 16th for a 68, boosted his hopes of retaining his Tour card for next season.
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