Marco Penge earns Masters debut and closes gap on Rory McIlroy after Spanish Open win

England's Marco Penge booked a debut appearance at The Masters after he survived a torrid final day to clinch victory at the Open de Espana in Madrid.

Penge began the day with a comfortable four-shot lead, but a 1-over 72 left him tied at the top on 15-under par with compatriot Dan Brown, who produced a stunning finish despite needing treatment for a shoulder injury.

Brown had just bogeyed the 12th to slip to 12-under when he called for the physio on the 13th tee, and he was not able to swing at anything close to full-throttle coming down the stretch.

But he defied the issue to birdie the 13th, 15th and 18th holes to extend the contest, with Penge making only one birdie over the 18 holes of regulation as many of the contenders struggled to keep bogeys off the card in firm and fast conditions at the Club de Campo Villa de Madrid.

Brown appeared to have the advantage when the top two returned to the tee at the 321-yard 18th, coming up just short of the green with his drive while Penge went long and left and into the lush rough.

Both pitched to around 12 feet and, after Brown allowed too much break with his slippery birdie putt, Penge finally got one to drop as he clinched his third victory of a magnificent season on the DP World Tour.

His win also guarantees him a first visit to Augusta National for The Masters next April, while he also booked his place in the field for The 154th Open at Royal Birkdale.

Penge will also move back to second place in the Race to Dubai standings ahead of Tyrrell Hatton as he looks to deny Rory McIlroy's bid to be European No 1 for the seventh time.

"Dan and Joel (Girrbach) played great today," said Penge. "They were holing putts and I just couldn’t really get it in the hole, it felt like I was really up against it.

"But I felt like I managed myself really well and I actually think tee to green, I feel like I played really solid. It doesn’t matter the putts, I think I used them all yesterday, but obviously holing that one there was worth the wait."

Penge can now look forward to his first visit to Augusta National next spring, and he feels his powerful game, particularly from tee-to-green, will be well-suited to the course.

"It’s crazy. It’s a golf course that I’ve always wanted to play, because I feel like my game sets up really good for it," he added. 

"My goal was to get in the top 50 in the world by the end of the year. I think that made it a little easier playing the play-off, knowing that if I don’t win, I’m still going to be at the Masters. I tried to do a bit of reverse psychology there but no, I’m looking forward to it."

Girrbach's closing 69 earned him a podium finish on 14 under, two clear of LIV Golf star Tom McKibbin, while Ryder Cup hero Jon Rahm ended the week on a high as he delighted his home fans with a seven-birdie 65.

Rahm was happy to "back door" at top-10 finish on 10-under, and he called for future Spanish Opens to be played in similar tough conditions.

"It’s always great to come home, but unfortunately only two out of the four days were good, the other two were bad," said Rahm, who fired a 66 on day two but a 72 and a 71 on Thursday and Saturday left him too far back to contend.

"I didn’t feel like I played that different, but the course got me a few times. It was just very tricky this year, and I hope we can see it this firm and difficult more times in the future because, in my opinion, it plays more fun.

"It’s hard out there, and I wish people could see how close to the edge of the greens a lot of those pins are, and how small the greens are. It’s probably why you see a lot of variable scores.

"You definitely have a chance to shoot 5, 6 or 7-under, but the bogeys can come in quick."