Marco Penge’s return to Zebula Golf & Spa Property has introduced again heartwarming recollections forward of this week’s SDC Open, the third of 4 co-sanctioned occasions between the European Problem Tour and the Sunshine Tour.
Final yr’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 Highway to Mallorca Rankings in his first full European Problem Tour marketing campaign. Now, with a yr’s expertise below his belt, the Englishman is having fun with life out on the street and specifically on the Limpopo venue.
“This can be a fairly particular place for me,” mentioned 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 all my greatest outcomes on the Problem Tour at this venue, it’s at all times good to come back again to someplace you’ve performed nice.
“That is the third week on the schedule. First week I completed fiftieth, which wasn’t too dangerous per week contemplating we don’t get to play a lot golf in England through the winter months, so the primary week was fairly profitable, I performed fairly properly. Final week I missed the lower, however taking part in at Fancourt was a terrific expertise and I assumed the occasion itself was nice to be taking part in with the amateurs.
“I really feel like my recreation isn’t really that far-off, only a little bit of rust in there to shake off. I’m going to attempt to play two follow rounds this week to attempt 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’ve performed properly and we’ll need to see the way it goes.”
Penge was happy to have the ability to spend a while at residence in Sussex together with his household over the low season, however is now each excited and humbled to be on the street 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 admire the time we have now at residence with our households because it doesn’t come round that a lot,” he mentioned. “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 residence, we don’t actually get that, we get just a few squirrels and issues like that. To see zebras and giraffes, it’s one thing you may’t take as a right and admire how fortunate we’re.”
The motion kind the SDC Open will get below 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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