Marco Penge is back from betting ban and wins his first European tour title

HAINAN ISLAND, China (AP) — Marco Penge of England closed with a 5-under 67 on Sunday for a three-shot victory in the Hainan Classic for his first European tour title, coming just two months after he returned from a ban for betting on golf.

The win capped off a wild six months for Penge, which began with him narrowly keeping his European card and ended with him finishing third in the Asian Swing to earn a spot in the PGA Championship next month.

The European tour gave Penge a three-month suspension for betting on golf, though it determined he never bet on himself or on anyone in the tournaments he played. He was fined 2,000 pounds.

The 26-year-old Penge held off an early charge from Sean Crocker on the front nine as Crocker fell back with too many bogeys and shot 66 to finish three back along with Kristoffer Reitan (67). Penge finished at 17-under 271.

“This obviously means the world to me,” Penge said, “It’s something that I’ve always dreamt of achieving, winning on the biggest stage. After my time off, it was the thing that I wanted to really prove to myself and prove to everyone, to show what a player I am.”

Keita Nakajima won the Asian Swing on the European tour, followed by Eugenio Chacarra of Spain and Penge. All three earned a spot at Quail Hollow for the PGA Championship on May 15-18 in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Penge also moved to No. 11 in the Race to Dubai.

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