The DP World Tour Play-Off events are in full swing, and soon the Race to Dubai title winner will be revealed. Like last year, Rory McIlroy is right at the top of the leaderboard. Currently, McIlroy has six titles under his name and, with 4,132.56 points, leads the rankings before the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship. But there’s one DP World Tour pro, Marco Penge, who has a real chance to catch up to McIlroy. But as the crowd followed every swing in the desert heat, Marco Penge was waging a quieter contest that had little to do with scorecards.

“If anything today, I was a little more at times took my foot, picked and chose where to attack. The first three days, I was trying to attack as hard as I could, and I think that was why — part of my patience being poor,” Marco Penge said about trying to catch up to McIlroy.

“Today was back to the process and be aggressive inside 150 and take my medicine outside of that. Yeah, short-sided myself on 17 but can’t get everything right. Just real good performance, every other part of my game. Mentally, me and my caddie were great today, and nice to go into next week shooting that score today.”

Marco Penge has had a remarkable rise this season after a previous suspension for a betting infraction threatened to derail his career. He was suspended for three months from December 2024 to February 22025. However, he had a dreamy comeback in the 2025 season. The Englishman had turned pro in 2017, but had never won a title until this season. This year, Penge won three titles on the DP World Tour: the Hainan Classic. Then he won the Danish Golf Championship and the Spanish Open.

Thanks to these three title wins, four top 10 finishes, and many other brilliant performances, Penge amassed 3,691.24 points. But the thought of catching up to McIlroy affected his first three days’ performance. “My patience had ton, it frustration. I’m not a guy who gets frustrated or angry, and yesterday really tested me, and it’s probably one of the worst mental performances of the year. Had a chat with my psychologist last night and a good chat with my caddie and team and reset for today,” Penge said about his third day at the Abu Dhabi Championship. “Today the goal was to be as patient and accepting as possible and see what happens, and I did, and yeah, I’m proud of myself the way I fought back.”

Marco Penge fired an opening round of 67. He hit an eagle, 6 birdies, and 3 bogeys on Day 1. With this, he finished 5 under par 67 on a 72-hole play. This was a good enough start. However, things took an ugly turn on the next two days. On Day 2, the 2025 Spanish Open winner made only 1 bogey and 1 eagle. But the number of birdies dropped to just 3, giving him a 4-under-par finish. The third day was the worst, with a double bogey on hole 18. His first shot hit a bunker, and then the ball went into the water. With a one-stroke penalty, he took 4 more shots to hit the hole. 7 birdies, 3 bogeys, and a double bogey got him to a 2 under par finish on Day 3.

The Englishman worked on his mentality with his coach and caddie to make improvements on the last day. On Day 4, he scored 2 eagles, 7 birdies, and 2 bogeys to finish 9 under par. It was his best performance so far at the 2025 Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship.

However, Penge was not the only one frustrated because of his game. Rory McIlroy also felt frustrated. He didn’t have to catch anybody on the Race to Dubai, but he had to catch up to other golfers who were hitting lower scores than him.

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Rory McIlroy was as frustrated as Marco Penge at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship

McIlroy admitted frustration at not being able to keep up with other golfers at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship. After Round 3, he was at 14 under par, tied 12th, while the leader, Aaron Rai, was at 20 under par. McIlroy described the difficulty of staying patient and consistent while trying to play catch-up to others. He even took a risky gamble on the 14th hole in Round 3, but ended up with a bogey after hitting into the native area and bunker. He said, “It’s hard to stay patient when you’re seeing all the guys behind you making birdies,” Rory McIlroy said. “I was trying to play catch-up.”

Despite the challenge, McIlroy acknowledged his overall play was good but not quite enough to contend for the win at this event. It has traditionally been tough for him. He has had 13 appearances with several runner-up and third-place finishes, but has not won the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship yet. This year, too, he fell one stroke short of getting his hands on the Falcon Trophy.

Marco Penge’s week in Abu Dhabi was more than a test of skill, and the same was true for Rory McIlroy. After the results of the Abu Dhabi Championship, the gap between Penge and McIlroy has widened. From around 500 points initially, the gap has increased to close to 800 points.