Suspended Penge Says Betting Breach 'A Genuine And Honest Mistake'

Marco Penge says he takes full responsibility for breaching DP World Tour betting rules, but insisted it was "a genuine and honest mistake" on his part

Marco Penge watches on after hitting a shot
(Image credit: Getty Images)
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Marco Penge insists he made "a genuine and honest mistake" after being sanctioned by the DP World Tour for breaching betting rules, and will "never ever make the same mistake again."

Penge was given a £2,000 fine and banned for three months, with one of those months suspended, having been found to have "placed bets on multiple golf events".

The Englishman has posted a statement on X where he takes "full responsibility" for placing those bets, but adds more context on the size and scale of them while insisting he did not know he was breaching DP World Tour rules.

Penge says that 68% of his bets were placed before he took an integrity course, while pointing out "a majority of them were in the Majors and Ryder Cup" as he wrongly believed he could bet on golf events he wasn't playing in.

"All of my bets were positive bets (meaning betting on someone to win rather than lose) and a majority of them were in the Majors and Ryder Cup," Penge added.

"My bets were all for entertainment purposes to make watching golf more fun - just like most would do if it was something like the Grand National or other sporting events.

"I genuinely thought it was OK to bet on golf as long as it wasn't on myself or tournaments I was competing in.

"After I had found out that I had breached the rules and revisited the Integrity Policy at greater depth, it was only then that I realised this wasn't the case."

Penge said the average stake of his bets was around £24 and his winnings totalled around £250 - while continuing to insists it was an honest mistake.

Cooperating fully with the DP World Tour throughout the matter, Penge says he will not be making the same mistake again.

"This was all a genuine and honest mistake that I have taken full responsibility for and I will never ever make the same mistake again," Penge concluded.

Penge will be back in action on the DP World Tour in Kenya in February.

Paul Higham
Paul Higham
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Paul Higham is a sports journalist with over 20 years of experience in covering most major sporting events for both Sky Sports and BBC Sport. He is currently freelance and covers the golf majors on the BBC Sport website.  Highlights over the years include covering that epic Monday finish in the Ryder Cup at Celtic Manor and watching Rory McIlroy produce one of the most dominant Major wins at the 2011 US Open at Congressional. He also writes betting previews and still feels strangely proud of backing Danny Willett when he won the Masters in 2016 - Willett also praised his putting stroke during a media event before the Open at Hoylake. Favourite interviews he's conducted have been with McIlroy, Paul McGinley, Thomas Bjorn, Rickie Fowler and the enigma that is Victor Dubuisson. A big fan of watching any golf from any tour, sadly he spends more time writing about golf than playing these days with two young children, and as a big fair weather golfer claims playing in shorts is worth at least five shots. Being from Liverpool he loves the likes of Hoylake, Birkdale and the stretch of tracks along England's Golf Coast, but would say his favourite courses played are Kingsbarns and Portrush. 

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