Marco Penge showcased composure and consistency to seize the halfway lead at the Open de España presented by Madrid, carding a flawless four-under-par 67 at Club de Campo Villa de Madrid.
The Englishman, eyeing a third victory on the 2025 Race to Dubai, reached nine-under overall one shot clear of Canadian Aaron Cockerill, Switzerland’s Joel Girrbach, and Denmark’s Jeff Winther, who sit tied for second at eight-under.
The 27-year-old, already victorious at the Hainan Classic and Danish Golf Championship this season, displayed a patient approach throughout the second round. After seven consecutive pars, Penge made his move with a birdie on the eighth hole, followed by another at the 11th. He maintained composure through the middle stretch before producing a spectacular finish sticking his tee shot within two feet on the par-three 17th and following it up with a birdie on the 18th after a 325-yard drive and a precise approach.
Winther impressed with a bogey-free 64 to continue his fine form, while Cockerill and Girrbach also remained in contention with strong performances. Six players including Joakim Lagergren, Julien Guerrier, Alex Levy, Dan Brown, Patrick Reed, and Bernd Wiesberger trail by just two shots in fifth position.
Spain’s young hopeful Ángel Ayora sits tied for 11th at six-under, while home favorite and two-time Major champion Jon Rahm rebounded from a sluggish start to post a five-under 66, leaving him five shots off the pace.
Player Reactions
Marco Penge: “It was a very patient day, and nice to have a bogey-free round. I stayed focused and waited for my opportunities. When you’re patient, you get rewarded and I did today.”
Aaron Cockerill: “I played solid tee to green and made a few important putts. The wind was tricky at times, but the course is in great shape. You’ve got to drive it well out here.”
Jeff Winther: “It was a slow start, but I found rhythm after the first few holes. I hit a lot of fairways and rolled in some good putts. My game’s been trending in the right direction; I feel like it’s coming together.”
Joel Girrbach: “I stayed calm and consistent today. After a tough week previously, it feels good to see my game in good shape again. Everything from my long game to putting worked nicely.”
With 36 holes remaining, Penge stands poised to chase a hat-trick of titles this season; if he can maintain the same patience and precision that earned him Friday’s lead.
About the DP World Tour
The DP World Tour is the main men’s professional golf tour of the European Tour group.
As golf’s global tour, we showcase global talent in global destinations and use our platform to build, entertain and connect our global community.
GLOBAL TALENT: We provide pathways and a platform for the leading international talent, bringing together golfing icons, national heroes and emerging stars from around the world.
GLOBAL DESTINATIONS: We stage tournaments in iconic cities and locations around the world and each week we celebrate and showcase the rich diversity of the courses, cities and cultures we visit.
GLOBAL COMMUNITY: We build, entertain and connect communities through our commitment to innovation, creative content and having a positive social and environmental impact.
Our 2025 Global Schedule features 42 tournaments in 26 different countries and comprises three distinct phases: five ‘Global Swings’, the ‘Back 9’ and the ‘DP World Tour Play-Offs’. It features five Rolex Series events – the premium category of events on the DP World Tour – and four Major Championships, all of which count towards the Race to Dubai Rankings, the Tour’s season-long competition which concludes at the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai.
DP World, the leading provider of global smart end-to-end supply chain and logistics solutions, has been the title partner of the DP World Tour since the start of the 2022 season, the Tour’s 50th season following its formation in 1972.
We also enjoy the support of many of the world’s leading business brands with DP World, Rolex, Aldar, BMW, Buffalo Trace Distillery, Emirates, Fortinet, Nexo and Vestas as Official Partners.
About the European Tour group
The European Tour group administers the DP World Tour, the HotelPlanner Tour, the Legends Tour and the G4D Tour and, as the Managing Partner of Ryder Cup Europe LLP, stages golf’s greatest team contest, the Ryder Cup, in partnership with the PGA of America.
The European Tour group has Strategic Partnerships with the PGA TOUR, the Sunshine Tour, the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia, the China Golf Association (CGA), the Japan Golf Tour Organization (JGTO), the Korea Professional Golfers’ Association (KPGA), and the TATA Steel Professional Golf Tour of India. These partnerships provide global pathways for players from across the world to compete internationally on the DP World Tour, the main men’s professional golf Tour of the European Tour group which was established in 1972, as well as the HotelPlanner Tour.
