Andy DevaneyMarco Penge returns to the Open de España as defending champion this week, although very little about his life resembles the one he left behind in Madrid 12 months ago.
Victory over Daniel Brown in a play-off at Real Club de Campo Villa de Madrid completed a three-win 2025 season that pushed the Englishman to second in the Race to Dubai Rankings and ultimately earned him the Seve Ballesteros Award as Players’ Player of the Year.
It also delivered invitations to the Masters Tournament and The 154th Open.
A year later, Penge is a PGA Tour member, a father of two and a golfer who has spent part of the season dealing with recurring health problems. Defending a national open ought to provide enough complication by itself. Penge has managed to add an Atlantic crossing, parenthood and injury rehabilitation to the itinerary.
Penge returns after a year of considerable change
The 28-year-old withdrew from the U.S. Open because of health issues and later spent seven weeks away from competition.
Since returning in July, however, the golf has begun to look rather more familiar. Penge has made eight cuts in nine starts, recorded a top ten at the Husqvarna British Masters hosted by Sir Nick Faldo and arrives in Spain following another top-ten finish at the PGA Tour’s Bank of Utah Championship on Sunday.
The results are encouraging, but Penge makes no pretence that his first year combining life in the United States with a growing family has been straightforward.
“It’s been tough to be fair. I’ve enjoyed it, but it’s so much change. A lot of change at one time, not just in my golfing career, but my personal life as well, and kind of quite a lot for a 28-year-old to deal with.
“But I feel like I’ve dealt with it pretty well. I feel like my golf game’s been probably a lot better than it showed results-wise.”
There has been a geographical adjustment too. Penge and wife Sophie have welcomed their second child, Romeo, while the Englishman has been attempting to establish himself on the PGA Tour.
“I found it really hard with one child, let alone two, my health not being great, and then moving to America to a new tour and not being with my friends week in, week out.
“In the grand scheme of things, my life’s pretty good. It’s not really a big problem, is it? It’s just a game of golf and I’m lucky to be doing what I’m doing and I’m lucky to have the life I have and two healthy kids.”
Last year’s victory now looks even bigger
Penge’s 2025 triumph came at the end of a season in which he also won in China and Denmark, but Madrid supplied something the other victories could not: access to two of golf’s biggest stages.
Those Masters and Open exemptions are again available to this week’s champion, adding considerable value to a tournament already carrying the weight of a historic national championship.
Penge admits the scale of his own victory took time to register.
“It’s such a big tournament. I think in the moment I didn’t actually realise what I’d done and how big it actually is.”
The task of repeating it will not be especially accommodating.
Patrick Reed arrives with the Race to Dubai in his hands
Race to Dubai leader Patrick Reed heads a field containing Major champions Justin Rose, Shane Lowry, Francesco Molinari, Danny Willett, Sergio Garcia and Bubba Watson.
Reed has led the season-long standings since February following victories at the Hero Dubai Desert Classic and Qatar Masters. He has added three further top tens from 18 starts, including second place at the Amgen Irish Open.
His immediate concern, though, is fitness.
A shoulder problem forced Reed out of the BMW PGA Championship and subsequently kept him from the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship. The injury initially appeared rather more complicated after problems with his neck, shoulder and hand during his withdrawal.
“Never saw it coming. It was actually my first time withdrawing during a round of golf due to injury.
“I would rather have gone out and shoot a million than actually withdraw.”
Tests later established that his hand was unharmed and that the underlying problem was with the shoulder.
Reed now has an opportunity to strengthen his position over Rory McIlroy in the Race to Dubai and pursue a distinction achieved by only one other American. Collin Morikawa became European Number One in 2021.
The temptation might be to look towards the season-ending DP World Tour Play-Offs. Reed is not doing so.
“But the biggest thing is coming out and playing some solid golf right here and carry that momentum [through] because those last two events are not only very important, but you can’t fall asleep this week or next week as well.”
Eugenio Chacarra refuses to miss his home Open
For Eugenio Chacarra, simply getting to the first tee has required its own negotiation.
The Madrid native fractured a toe in a freak accident last week but remained determined to compete at a course close to where he grew up, with friends and family expected to follow him around Real Club de Campo Villa de Madrid.
The three-time DP World Tour winner therefore leads a home challenge with a damaged toe and rather more local attention than most golfers would choose while testing one.
For Penge, meanwhile, Madrid offers something different: familiarity after a season dominated by change.
A year ago he left Spain with a national title, two Major invitations and further evidence that his career was accelerating quickly. He returns having discovered that success has its own adjustment period.
The golf, at least, appears to be finding its feet again. This week will reveal whether the defending champion has done the same.
