While his newborn son, Romeo, was fighting for 21 days in the NICU, Marco Penge was teeing it up alone on the PGA Tour, miles away from his family. He barely talked about it, but on Saturday at the Valspar Championship, with his entire family finally present, he couldn’t help but share how he feels seeing them there.

“My wife was pregnant for the last couple of months, and she hasn’t been able to travel with me, so I’ve been spending a lot of time away from my family, and it’s great to have them all here this week. It’s the first week of the year that they have come. So, yeah, it’s nice to see my son out there on the golf course on the back nine every day, and it feels like it’s switched me off a little bit from being so hard on myself,” he told the media.

Sunday will be his first time in contention on the PGA Tour. In his five starts before Valspar, Penge missed three cuts, including his worst result of the season so far at THE PLAYERS. He carded 7-over at TPC Sawgrass, clearly struggling mentally with his son being in the NICU. Now, with Romeo home and his entire family on site at Copperhead, he is three shots from winning on the PGA Tour.

Marco Penge married Sophie in 2023 and welcomed their first son, Enzo, in 2024. Then, the couple decided to relocate the entire family from England to Florida ahead of his debut as a full PGA Tour member in 2026. Within weeks of arriving, Sophie gave birth to Romeo via C-section on February 24, and he was immediately placed in the NICU. Although the exact reason for being in the NICU is not known, Penge described this period as the most challenging time of their lives.

When Romeo made the cut and came home, Sophie marked the heartfelt homecoming on Instagram. She thanked everyone who helped them get by during this time and expressed gratitude. For a young family still finding its footing in a new country, it wasn’t easy, but as Sophie says, they have really made some friends for life during this time.

Penge earned his PGA Tour card not through qualifying school but by finishing runner-up in the 2025 Race to Dubai standings behind Rory McIlroy. For now, the golfer is positive about what tomorrow means.

“Yeah, looking forward to it. My first experience being in contention on Sunday on the PGA Tour. It’s just a golf tournament at the end of the day for me, but yeah, it would be a cool experience and learning curve, and hopefully I can play some decent golf,” he said.

If Penge wins, it would not be the first time golf has seen such an emotional moment.

When family changes everything: The PGA Tour has seen this before

Rory McIlroy became a father weeks before the 2020 U.S. Open. He talked about it, giving him a perspective that went beyond scoreboards and rankings. He finished T8 but walked away talking more about his mindset than his scorecard. Fatherhood had softened the edges of his self-criticism.

Gary Woodland lost a child during pregnancy and later had a daughter born with serious health complications. He won the 2019 U.S. Open and directly connected that mental clarity to what his family had been through.

When Paul Casey became a father in 2014, he said it fundamentally changed how he processed bad rounds. He then won the Valspar Championship in 2018 and backed it up again in 2019. The same Copperhead Course, where Marco Penge tees off in contention on Sunday.

Scottie Scheffler was ready to leave the Masters behind to see his son being born.

Marco Penge said his son’s watching helped him be easy on himself. McIlroy said fatherhood reframed pressure. Casey won twice at this very event after that shift. Woodland won a major through it. The pattern across the sport is hard to ignore.