'It's The Reason I'm Here' - Marco Penge Ignites Ryder Cup Chances With Thrilling Comeback Victory Over Rasmus Hojgaard In Denmark

The Englishman carded a closing 67 to fight back from one stroke behind and lift his second DP World Tour title at the Danish Golf Championship

Marco Penge holds up the Danish Golf Championship trophy after his win in 2025
(Image credit: Getty Images)

England's Marco Penge made a 72nd-hole birdie to edge past home favorite, Rasmus Hojgaard and lift the Danish Golf Championship title on Sunday.

The Englishman began the final round one stroke behind Hojgaard and was as many as four back by the sixth hole, but Penge continued to plot his way around Foresø Golf Klub in Copenhagen and fought his way to the top of the leaderboard early in the back nine as Hojgaard stumbled via three dropped shots in two holes.

As momentum appeared to be stalling for the Dane, Penge carried on looking good and - despite a first bogey at the 16th - bounced straight back to put himself in an excellent position.

With a two-shot lead coming down the par-5 last, Penge was put under immense pressure when his playing partner stuck his approach to 10 feet and holed out for eagle, temporarily tying the scores on 15-under.

But Penge - who had raced his own eagle try roughly five feet past - stood firm to post a 67 and win the tournament with his fifth birdie of the day.

A second victory of the season for Penge - following the Hainan Classic in April - makes him the only the multiple-time champion on the DP World Tour this year. It also sent the 27-year-old to the top of the Closing Swing rankings, helping him earn a bonus check of $200,000 on top of his Danish Golf Championship prize money.

Reacting to his win immediately after the winning putt dropped, Penge admitted that remaining motivated had been a priority since his debut win earlier in the year.

He said: "I've been playing so well this year. Coming back from my time off, to have won so soon (after that) and to achieve what I've achieved since I won.

"My main goal after I won was to not get complacent and drop off basically. My team have been a massive support for me, my family, everyone involved really.

"It's made me keep striving for more and this is amazing. And Rasmus, he's some player, to hit the shot he hit into the last and make eagle and basically make me have to win it was unbelievable.

"We were both pushing as hard as we could, and I was the winner at the end of the day, but I've loved every minute of playing two round of golf with him."

Marco Penge (left) and Rasmus Hojgaard embrace after Penge won the 2025 Danish Golf Championship

(Image credit: Getty Images)

The Englishman's latest impressive performance on the DP World Tour has begun to see his name thrown into conversations regarding Team Europe's roster for the Ryder Cup next month.

Penge himself admitted it is a goal of his and shared that he is going to play every event until the squad is named in order to give himself a chance.

He continued: "It's the reason why I'm here. I'm planning to play six weeks on the trot and give it my all to try and do something.

"I've got my own little goals in my mind and my own drivers. I'm just trying to play as well as I can every week and see what happens, really."

Despite his fourth-round 69 (-2), Hojgaard finished solo second ahead of England's Ben Schmidt in third on 12-under. Sweden's Mikael Lindberg and Italy's Gregorio De Leo shared fourth on 11-under as Norway's Kristoffer Reitan and Australia's Elvis Smylie tied for sixth on nine-under.

The top-10 was completed by USA's Johannes Veerman and two Finnish players in Sami Valimaki and Oliver Lindell on eight-under.

Jonny Leighfield
Staff Writer

Jonny Leighfield is our Staff News Writer who joined Golf Monthly just in time for the 2023 Solheim Cup and Ryder Cup. He graduated from the University of Brighton with a degree in Sport Journalism in 2017 and spent almost five years as the sole sports reporter at his local newspaper. During his time with Golf Monthly, Jonny has interviewed several stars of the game, including Robert MacIntyre, Ian Poulter, Lee Westwood, and Joaquin Niemann. An improving golfer himself, Jonny enjoys learning as much about the game as he can and recently reached his Handicap goal of 18 for the first time. He attended both the 150th and 151st Open Championships and dreams of attending The Masters one day.

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