Marco Penge has revealed the golf course is still the one place he can feel truly at ease after being diagnosed with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) last year.
Self-described as “useless with time”, the Englishman has a newfound clarity this season which has helped pave the way for what will be remembered as a career-changing campaign inside the ropes.
Having retained his card dramatically in the final counting event of the regular season in South Korea almost a year ago, Penge now finds himself a three-time winner on the DP World Tour, second on the Race to Dubai, at a career-high world ranking and with dual membership on the PGA TOUR secure.
And Penge is crediting the peace he finds when playing, along with a regime of structure and routine, as keys to his remarkable rise to wider prominence while handling his diagnosis.
“Routine for me keeps the mind at ease,” said Penge on the latest episode of the Life on Tour presented by Buffalo Trace podcast.
“When you have ADHD, you overthink. If I can have structure that stops me from overthinking.”
In what is such a single-minded sport, Penge struggles to know when to switch off due to his drive to continously improve.
In a candid discussion with hosts George Harper Jr. and John E. Morgan, the 2023 Road to Mallorca champion added: “I’d say that is the hardest thing for me in my workplace is the mental side and dealing with how my mind is built."
By contrast, he is most at ease when on the golf course.
His results this season confirm as much, with his victory at last week’s Open de España presented by Madrid earning him an invite to the Masters and The Open next year.
“That’s the one time I feel at ease,” he said, revealing it has taken time for him to feel comfortable allowing team members to take the weight off elements of his preparation. “I don’t have outside noises.
“[Off the course] I am always thinking about everyone else. My team said to me ‘you have got to stop worrying about us’."
While it may appear ordinary to many, it is something that has required time for Penge, but he is reaping the rewards of counting on the trust of others within his inner circle.
“I have started to let people in, open up a little bit, and let people help me rather than be thinking about if everybody is all right,” he reflected.
Back on the course, Penge has elevated his game in recent months with the company he has kept, playing alongside some of the best on some of the biggest stages including Major champions Matt Fitzpatrick at the Genesis Scottish Open, Cam Smith at The Open and Hideki Matsuyama at the BMW PGA Championship.
What he has learned is he’d rather fail trying.
The World Number 31 said: “The reason I play the game is I love to do things that… you know when you have an opportunity to do something when you know ‘this could be cool’. If I pull this off this could be wicked.
“I have learned loads from them. They are not shying away.”
In his own words, Penge bases his approach off World Number One Scottie Scheffler, who is widely regarded as one of the greatest competitors.
“I look at his mindset and think that is how I want to be,” he said.
“You look at Rory [too]… I love watching the best. I would happily stand on the range and just watch them.”
There is an insight into the standards he is setting of himself, and it would appear fair to say he is firmly on the right path to sustain his success.
