Marco Penge’s victory at the Spanish Open brought a big bonus

Marco Penge now has three European Tour titles to his name this season, and his latest win brings even more rewards.

With a sudden victory on Sunday at the Spanish Open over compatriot Daniel Brown, Penge earned invitations to next year’s Masters and Open Championship – benefits granted for the first time this year.

“It’s crazy,” Penge said of playing in the Masters. “It’s a course I’ve always wanted to play because I feel like my game is really good for it.”

Many courses have seemed like a good fit lately for 27-year-old Penge, who also won the Danish Golf Championship and the Hainan Classic in April.

At the Club de Campo Villa de Madrid this week, Penge continued his strong play, entering the final round with a four-shot lead. But on Sunday he flatlined and shot a 1-over par 72, while Brown, who started the day five shots back, punctuated a closing 4-under 67 with a birdie on the 18th hole to force a playoff.

The extended play didn’t last long as Penge ended things on the first extra hole.

It was a good time for a birdie, and a good time for a win, given a recent shift at two of the most powerful institutions in the game. In August, Augusta National Golf Club, in partnership with the R&A, announced that the Masters, along with the Open Championship, would offer new invitations to a select group of national opens, including the Japan Open, the Hong Kong Open, the Australian Open, the South Africa Open and… wait for it… the Spanish Open.

At the same time, Augusta and the R&A eliminated automatic invitations to those same events for the PGA Tour’s seven fall tournaments. If you want to compete for the Green Jacket or the Claret Jug, it’s now better to win in Spain than in Napa or at the Baycurrent Classic in Japan.

While far from a household name in the United States, Penge turned heads across the pond this year and was one of the candidates in the conversation as a potential captain for the European team in the Ryder Cup. He didn’t feel the urge to travel to New York. But he now has other American plans this spring.