DP World Tour star Marco Penge has broken his silence after being banned for three months for golf betting. The 26-year-old Briton is alleged to have breached the Tour's integrity program by “betting on multiple golf events”.
Penger turned pro in 2017 and won the Portuguese Open and Rolex Challenge Tour Finals last year.
But he won't be able to return to golf until mid-February, with the ban suspended for a month.
A statement from DP World Tour read: “Penger did not place bets on himself or the progress of the event during the days he competed, leading the panel to find that the integrity of such an event was not compromised.
“The disciplinary panel ruled that Penge’s breach warranted a three-month suspension, with one month suspended pending further breaches of the scheme.
“The ban takes effect on December 13, 2024 and Penge can return to the DP World Tour from February 13, 2025. He was also fined £2,000.
“The disciplinary panel found that Penge immediately admitted the breach and cooperated throughout the investigation, necessitating a reduced penalty, which was reflected in the sanctions ultimately imposed.”
Penge issued a statement on Instagram in response to the ban: “Back in April 2024, a bookmaker informed the PGA Tour that I had placed some bets on golf starting in 2022, with an overall average bet of £24, totaling The profit was approximately £250.
“68% of the bets I placed were made before attending the Integrity Program education course in March 2023.
“All my bets are head bets (meaning betting on a player to win rather than lose), and most of them are on the majors and the Ryder Cup.
“My bets are all for entertainment purposes, to make watching golf more interesting – like most people would do if it was like a national championship or other sporting event.
“From the moment this matter came to light, I fully cooperated with the PGA Tour throughout the entire process to ensure their investigation went as smoothly as possible.
“I sincerely believe that it’s okay to bet on golf as long as it’s not directed at myself or the tournaments I play. After I found out I was in violation of the rules and revisited the integrity policy more deeply, I just then realized that wasn’t the case. in this way.
“This was a genuine, honest mistake for which I take full responsibility and I will never make the same mistake again.”
