Everything you need to know from last week's Open de España presented by Madrid.
Penge wins third title of season in all-English play-off
Marco Penge beat fellow Englishman Dan Brown in a play-off on a dramatic final day at Club de Campo Villa de Madrid to win his third DP World Tour title of a breakout season.
The long-time leader in the Spanish capital birdied the first play-off hole to add to his victories in April's Hainan Classic and the Danish Golf Championship in August.
Penge had begun the final round four shots clear, but faced stern competition from playing partners Brown and Joel Girrbach, who finished one shot behind in third.
Brown brilliantly shot 67 despite repeated delays for treatment to his right shoulder and neck, finishing level on 15 under par with 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," he reflected.
“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.”
Penge secures invites to the Masters and The Open
For the first time, Spain’s national Open – one of continental Europe’s oldest championships - provided a route to the Masters for the winner.
With his victory, Penge can now start to look forward to his debut at Augusta National next year.
While he was projected to rise into the top 50 in the Official World Golf Ranking even if he had lost to Brown in the play-off, the Englishman is proud to be taking his game to uncharted territory.
“It’s crazy," said Penge of his imminent Masters invite. "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.”
Penge, who also moved back to second on the Race to Dubai Rankings behind Rory McIlroy, also claimed an invite to The 154th Open at Royal Birkdale as part of the Open Qualifying Series.
It will be his fourth appearance at The Open, after competing at St Andrews in 2022, Royal Liverpool in 2023 and Royal Portrush in 2025.
Penge and Brown make major moves
Penge and Brown may not have moved up many places in the Race to Dubai Rankings after their play-off in Madrid but the moves they did make could shape their seasons and their careers.
Penge started the week third in the Rankings and while he only moved up one place, the 835.00 points won put him within fewer than 500 of long-term leader McIlroy at the summit.
McIlroy will tee it up this week at the DP World India Championship before the two men tackle both events in the DP World Tour Play-Offs, with All To Play For in the battle to win the Harry Vardon Trophy.
BMW International Open champion Brown may have narrowly missed out on a third DP World Tour title but the 555.00 points he picked up moved him to a season-high tenth on the Rankings, which puts him in line for the seventh of ten dual memberships available with the PGA TOUR.
That, however, is just 422.37 points ahead of Elvis Smylie, the man he bumped out of the tenth card and now the nearest challenger for dual membership.
Rahm finishes on a high as home Open provides 'fun' test
Jon Rahm hailed the tougher test provided by his national championship after wrapping up a mixed week with a fine round of 65.
The three-time champion on home soil had to settle for a creditable ten under par finish in this year's tournament at Club de Campo Villa de Madrid, with Sunday's seven-birdie effort and Friday's 66 offset by 72 on Thursday and 71 on Saturday.
“It’s always great to come home," he said. "Unfortunately only two out of four days were good, the other two were bad. And I didn’t feel like I played that different, it’s just the course got me a few times.
“It’s very tricky this year and I hope we can see it this firm and difficult more times in the future because in my opinion it plays more fun."
Rahm began his final round with back-to-back birdies, including a 36-foot putt at the second, and gained further strokes at the seventh and tenth before a bogey at the next.
Three birdies in the final five holes ended his tournament on a high note and he said: “Today was really good, everything went well – hit it great, putted well, only one bogey on the card and it wasn’t really too bad a swing, just a difficult par three that I short-sided myself on.
“The fans always make themselves heard and no matter how early or how late I am teeing off, they’re there for me, they show up. They’re there to support me though the entire round.
“Days like yesterday were hard, when I was playing well and just slowly came back, they’re still cheering me on and when I keep making bogeys, it’s just a little bit more difficult for me to process.
“But days like today when things are going well, they definitely push me and that’s the reason I’ve played so well here in the past, using that crowd to my advantage has helped me so much.”
Two aces, one car
Saturday's third round saw not one but two holes in one, both of which courtesy of Englishmen John Parry and Dan Bradbury.
Firstly, Parry's highlight of his five-under-par 66 came late on when his eight iron at the 17th hole bounded forward and rolled into the cup to earn him not just a prized golfing memory but also a brand new BMW iX3 worth approximately 90,000 euros.
"You can’t see anything from the tee but obviously the reaction sort of gave it away a little bit – but yeah, very pleased," he said. "You could gradually hear them as it’s getting closer, building up.
"You hear sometimes and the reality is it misses the hole by a foot or something but yeah, it was amazing – and it’s better when you get to win a car as well, that makes it a little bit better!”
No such prize was on offer at the ninth but fellow Yorkshireman Bradbury was still delighted with an ace of his own - his fourth on the DP World Tour and his second at this event, having aced the third hole in 2023's third round.
"That's number nine (overall) I think now," he added. "I had one a few weeks ago as well."
We have now had 28 holes-in-one this season.
