Marco Penge received a three-month betting ban with a one-month suspension, the DP World Tour announced.
The statement said an independent disciplinary panel found the 26-year-old Englishman had “bet on multiple golf events” in breach of the tour's integrity programme.
It added: “Penge did not bet on himself or the progress of the tournament during the days he participated, leading the panel to find that the integrity of such events was not compromised.
“The Disciplinary Panel ruled that Penge's offenses merited a three-month suspension with a one-month suspension for a period of 12 months pending further violations of the program.
“The suspension took effect on 13 December 2024 and Penge can return to the DP World Tour from 13 February 2025 onwards. He was also fined £2,000.
“The Disciplinary Panel has determined that Penge's current admission of wrongdoing and cooperation during the investigation warrant mitigation reflected in any penalty imposed.”
Penge was found to have breached regulation 3(a)(i), which states: “No covered person shall directly or indirectly bet or direct any other person to bet on the result, progress, conduct or any other aspect whatsoever any professional or elite amateur golf event anywhere in the world.”
Penge: I thought it was fine
Penge released a statement via social media explaining that he did not realize he had broken the rules when betting on tournaments he was not active in.
He said: “In April 2024 the Tour was informed by the betting agency that I had placed some golf bets from 2022, with a total average stake of £24 and a total profit of c. £250. 68 per cent of the bets I placed before embarking on an integrity education course in March 2023.
“All my bets were positive (meaning betting on someone to win, not lose) and most of them were on the majors and the Ryder Cup. My bets were all for entertainment purposes to make golf more fun to watch – just like which most would do if it was something like the Grand National or other sporting events.
“From the moment it came to light I have co-operated fully with the tour throughout the process to ensure their investigation goes as smoothly as possible.
“I honestly thought it was fine to bet on golf as long as it wasn't about me or the tournaments I was competing in. After I discovered that I had broken the rules and reviewed the integrity policy in more detail, it was only then that I realized that was not the case.
“This was all an honest and sincere mistake for which I take full responsibility and I will never make the same mistake again.”
Penge has confirmed that he plans to return to action at the Magical Kenya Open from February 20-23, live Sky Sports Golf.
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