Marco Penge didn’t want to get in Rory McIlroy’s way while chasing him at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship 2025

Marco Penge opened up about his experience of playing with Rory McIlroy at the 2025 Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship. They teed it up for the first two rounds together in a group that also included Tyrrell Hatton.

Penge is looking forward to winning his fourth event on the DP World Tour this season and has had a good outing this week so far. He settled in a tie for 17th after playing 36 holes.

McIlroy is also having a good time at the Yas Links Golf Club. In the post-round press conference on Friday, Penge was asked about his experience of playing with the world no. 2 for the first two rounds of the tournament. He called it “great” and said that he “didn’t want to get in the way too much” or “ask many questions,” as they are both chasing for the title.

"It's been great. Obviously it's tough when you're both trying to beat each other. So I didn't want to get in the way too much or ask too many questions. But he definitely gave me a lot of time, and it was nice to walk the fairways with him and hopefully spend some more time with him in the future and learn a couple of tricks," Penge said (via ASAP Sports).

Marco Penge started his campaign with an opening round of 67 at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship and then played the second round of 68. He settled in a three-way tie with Jordan Smith and Nicolai von Dellingshausen.

Meanwhile, Rory McIlroy started his campaign with an opening round of 68 and then played another round of 68 to settle with a score of 8-under.

---

Marco Penge opens up about his game at Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship

Marco Penge started his game on Friday on the first tee. He made a par but then added an eagle on the second. He made two birdies on the front nine and a birdie and a bogey on the back nine for a round of 4-under.

In the post-round press conference, the Englishman opened up about his performance. He said (via ASAP Sports):

"4-under through nine, felt like I probably could have been a little bit better. Felt like I could have holed a couple of putts. Birdied 11, the par 5. Obviously a nice shot into the par 3, 13, hit the flag, made bogey. Summed up the day. Overall, really pleased with how I played. Just need the putts to drop."

Tommy Fleetwood has taken the lead in the game after two rounds in a tie with fellow Englishman Aaron Rai. They are tied at 14 under.

Marco Penge is coming to play this week after his win at the Open de España last month and is in good form. Earlier this year, on the DP World Tour, he won the Hainan Classic and then the Danish Golf Championship.

Edited by Ankita Yadav