Marco Penge’s return to Zebula Golf & Spa Property has introduced again heartwarming reminiscences forward of this week’s SDC Open, the third of 4 co-sanctioned occasions between the European Problem Tour and the Sunshine Tour.
Final 12 months’s SDC Open marked the Sussex golfer’s return to aggressive golf following an eight-month harm lay-off and began a season which culminated in a thirty ninth place end on the Street to Mallorca Rankings in his first full European Problem Tour marketing campaign. Now, with a 12 months’s expertise beneath his belt, the Englishman is having fun with life out on the highway and specifically on the Limpopo venue.
“It is a fairly particular place for me,” stated Marco, 24, who turned professional in 2017. “This was my return from being injured for eight months so, coming again right here, it has a particular place in my coronary heart actually. To have one in every of my greatest outcomes on the Problem Tour at this venue, it’s all the time good to return again to someplace you realize you’ve performed nice.
“That is the third week on the schedule. First week I completed fiftieth, which wasn’t too unhealthy every week contemplating we don’t get to play a lot golf in England throughout the winter months, so the primary week was fairly profitable, I performed fairly nicely. Final week I missed the reduce, however taking part in at Fancourt was an incredible expertise and I believed the occasion itself was nice to be taking part in with the amateurs.
“I really feel like my recreation isn’t truly that distant, only a little bit of rust in there to shake off. I’m going to try to play two apply rounds this week to try to get my really feel again after not taking part in a lot golf within the winter. It’s simply nice to be again right here at a spot the place you realize you’ve performed nicely and we’ll should see the way it goes.”
Penge was happy to have the ability to spend a while at dwelling in Sussex together with his household over the low season, however is now each excited and humbled to be on the highway as soon as extra.
“I feel spending a while with the household over Christmas and the New 12 months, us guys who’re out right here each week travelling the world, we recognize the time we now have at dwelling with our households because it doesn’t come round that a lot,” he stated. “We’re all buzzing to be again out taking part in and coming to South Africa, being from England, is simply superior so we will’t complain. Not many individuals can say they’ve performed a spherical of golf within the wild. It’s superior to see the wildlife out right here, going again to again dwelling, we don’t actually get that, we get a couple of squirrels and issues like that. To see zebras and giraffes, it’s one thing you possibly can’t take as a right and recognize how fortunate we’re.”
The motion kind the SDC Open will get beneath means in South Africa at 6.30am native time, with Penge teeing it up alongside France’s Ugo Coussaud and 2022 SDC Open runner-up Ruan Conradie.
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