As the DP World Tour gets underway, there has been a lot of talk about who gets to keep the crown. And two of the biggest names that have come are those of Rory McIlroy and Marco Penge. Before the start of the event, Penge expressed his wish to unsettle McIlroy’s momentum. Unfortunately, as the opening day unfolded, things began to look quite bleak for Penge. As time went by, it was the Northern Ireland star who proved to be a superior person on the tee once again. 

The golfing icon began his day with a brilliant 6-under-66 score. As McIlroy dominated the game with his skilful presentation of golf, the star landed seven birdies. And with such a strong performance, McIlroy has gained a strong position in the Race to Dubai rankings. On the contrary, trying to go toe-to-toe with McIlroy, Penge struggled significantly first up. He landed a series of bogeys that stunted his progress significantly. Ultimately, the English professional golfer regained some momentum at the last moment and wrapped up the first round with a score of 74. 

 Now then, despite falling behind McIlroy significantly, Penge displayed pure sportsmanship after the session was over. Taking to his Instagram story, the English golfing star heaped praises on his biggest rival for a class display. However, Penge also looked pretty much dissatisfied with his own lacklustre display. But vowed to try and come back strongly in the subsequent sessions. Penge wrote in his story, “Not at the races today, unfortunately. Rory played class, and I let the side down. 3 more cracks at it”

Surely, the intention of the English golfer is pretty clear. But he will have an uphill battle on his hands. At the moment, there is a massive 767-point gap between him and the Northern Ireland star. And although Pengo gained some momentum late in the day by getting a birdie on the final hole, things will surely be extremely difficult for the Englishman.

On the contrary, McIlroy will look to consolidate from here on, trying to win his seventh European title, with the likes of Tommy Fleetwood and Tyrrell Hatton in hot pursuit. Meanwhile, despite being a rival, Penge’s admiration for McIlroy has been quite heartwarming to see.

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How Marco Penge tried to learn from Rory McIlroy before facing him as his rival

Right before standing against Rory McIlroy in the Jumeirah Golf Estates of Dubai for the 2025 DP World Tour Championships, Marco Penge made sure to prepare well for the match. The 27-year-old golfer aiming to dethrone Rory from the first place of the Dubai rankings went through old videos of the Northern Irishman to understand his game play.

Penge has secured victory thrice in the DP World Tour this season after grabbing an entry at the 36th hole of the Genesis Championship in South Korea. While resting in bed to recover from his illness, Penge watched videos of McIlroy, whom he referred to as the “greatest player” of his generation. The English golfer added, “Last week playing with Rory was a massive experience for me, and to play as well as I did in front of him was something I was very proud of.”

He further shared his excitement before the match, stating how he is eager to face the 36-year-old icon and “watch Rory do his thing”. Marco Penge said, “I love it. I love playing in front of crowds, I love playing with the best players in the world. There’s nothing better than playing with Rory McIlroy.”

But it’s not only for winning that Penge watched his old videos; it’s also because he considers his rival his idol. “He’s someone I watched idolising as a young boy, and even to this day I still idolise him, so he is someone I can learn so much off. I compare my game to his quite a lot, so I’m looking forward to watching him play around here, see what I can learn, and kind of follow him round, I suppose.”

The 26-year-old English star shared how he has always tried to learn from Rory. He said, “I was trying to learn. I want to learn off him. I was still focused on my own game, stuck to my own strategy, but there’s so much to learn off him, and to have five hours with him is priceless”.

While Penge failed to take the lead over McIlroy, he has surely gained enough satisfaction just by playing against his childhood idol. As right before the game, he himself reflected, “I’m fortunate to have another five hours with him tomorrow, hopefully I can play as well as I did last week, and we can put on a good show.”