DP World Tour player Marco Penge banned for betting violations

DP World Tour pro Marco Penge has been banned for three months as a result of betting violations. The 26-year-old golfer had just completed his first season on the tour and now faces a temporary suspension that could get longer.

The Tour's statement read:

"An Independent Disciplinary Panel found that the Englishman placed bets on multiple golf events in breach of Regulation 3 of the Programme. Penge did not bet on himself or on the progress of tournaments during days when he was participating, leading the panel to find that the integrity of such events had not been compromised."

The violated rule states that no player can directly or indirectly bet or instruct another person to bet on the sport in any way. This can be gambling on the result, progress, or any other prop bet in golf, both amateur or professional or "elite".

Penge has been banned for three months with one month suspended for 12 months while the Tour continues to investigate the situation. He was officially banned on December 13 and is eligible to play again on February 13. They also fined Penge £2,000.

The official statement continued:

"The Disciplinary Panel found that Penge’s immediate admission of breach and co-operation throughout the investigation warranted mitigation reflected in the eventual sanction imposed. The Disciplinary Panel that heard the case was Philip Evans KC (Chair), sport administrator Les Vernon and Legends Tour Member Simon Khan."

They ended by stating that the DP World Tour would make no further comment on the infraction.

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Marco Penge faces uphill battle to remain on DP World Tour

Marco Penge narrowly held onto his DP World Tour card for 2025. He birdied on his last hole at the Genesis Championship to make the cut, which allowed him to stay in the top 115 and retain playing rights.

The DP World Tour suspended Marco Penge (Image via Getty)

After that moment, Penge said via Bunkered:

“The pressure that us guys have to deal with is immense, especially when you are trying to keep your card out here. This was my first year and I don’t want to fall back. I feel like I deserve to be here and feel like I’m good enough to be here."

Given how close he was to losing his rights in 2025, Penge will likely need all the tournaments he can get into to accrue enough DP World Tour points to stay within that top 115. However, thanks to his ban, he won't be able to play in about two and a half months of events on the tour.