Marco Penge will make his debut as a PGA Tour member at the Farmers Insurance Open on Thursday after relocating to Florida, but the process of finding a new home club was much harder than expected
05:44 ET, 29 Jan 2026Updated 08:35 ET, 29 Jan 2026
Marco Penge revealed he was turned away by two Florida golf clubs ahead of his debut PGA Tour season(Image: Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images)
Marco Penge is one of golf’s rising stars, and he will make his debut as a PGA Tour member on Thursday, but he has revealed he was refused a membership by two Florida golf clubs.
The Englishman was a breakout star on the DP World Tour in 2025, winning three times and finishing second to Rory McIlroy in the Race To Dubai. The 27-year-old is the No. 30 player in the Official World Golf Ranking, but after relocating to West Palm Beach ahead of the PGA Tour season, it was much harder than expected to find a new home club.
Penge is in the field for the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines, where Brooks Koepka will make his comeback after quitting LIV Golf. Penge will tee it up with Tony Finau and Alex Noren, yet some Florida clubs still turned their noses up at his application.
“I’m actually at Old Palm. They’re like a real family-oriented golf club and super chilled,” Penge said. “I did try and join a couple of others, but kind of got turned away a little bit. Yeah, I was kind of a little too casual, I think.
“But myself and Old Palm are a good match, and the facilities are great there. So yeah, it’s nice to be at a golf club that wants to have me there, so yeah, it’s cool.”
Penge has had a life-changing 12 months. After keeping his DP World Tour card thanks to a birdie on the final hole of the 2024 season, he was slapped with a three-month ban for breaching betting regulations.
What followed, though, was a remarkable upturn in form, which culminated in victories at the Hainan Classic, Danish Golf Championship, and the Spanish Open. And the he milestone moments keep on coming.
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Penge pushed Rory McIlroy all the way in the Race To Dubai(Image: Andrew Redington/Getty Images)
“I moved here at the beginning of January. Moved to Palm Beach with my wife and my son, and brought the dog over and kind of the whole crew, to be honest,” Penge continued.
“My wife’s giving birth in a month’s time, so yeah, it’s taken a bit of time to really find our feet and settle in.
“It’s been a lot of work to sort out, but yeah, we really enjoyed a couple of weeks before I came here. My wife’s been really supportive of me and my career. Yeah, it’s cool. I’ve enjoyed it.”
Penge’s stellar 2025 season saw him linked with a move to LIV Golf, but he made clear that reaching the PGA Tour was always his priority.
“Knowing that I’m going to be playing on the PGA TOUR for a year and kind of ticked all the boxes in terms of what you could do as a professional golfer, I kind of still pinch myself a little bit in a way,” he said.
“At the start of last season, obviously, it wasn’t the start I wanted [due to the suspension], and after winning in China, it kind of became [possible] that I could achieve getting my PGA Tour card. And then for then going on to win three times and have some other really good finishes, yeah, it gave me a lot of belief.
“I’m really excited to see how I get on over here. It’s obviously a new challenge, and it will be a little harder than what I’m used to back in Europe, but that’s part of being a worldwide professional golfer.”