Local hero Grant Forrest 'pulls one out of the bag' in Scottish Open when chips were down
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Grant Forrest conjured up his own wonder shot at the 18th hole at The Renaissance Club to keep the local flag flying in the Genesis Scottish Open.
The Pencaitland-based player emulated the brilliant blows produced by both Rory McIlroy and Bob MacIntyre on the same hole in last year’s final round when the chips were down.
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Hide AdIn Forrest’s case, the resultant birdie was to make the cut, but it’s a timely boost for the 31-year-old to be around for the weekend in his own backyard after a recent “rough” spell.


“Starting out, I thought four under (it eventually proved to be three under) was probably going to be the mark,” admitted Forrest after signing for a 67 to add to his opening 69. “I got a really bad lie off the tee at 16, forcing me to chip out and that was probably my best chance to get the birdie I needed coming in.
“Eighteen is one of the tougher holes out here (it was the hardest closing hole on the PGA Tour in 2022), especially when it is tucked over on the right where it was today.
“I hit a decent tee shot and, while I don’t know where it came from, I hit a brilliant 5-iron and it lipped out and finished about three feet from the hole, so to pull one out of the bag there was cool.”
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Hide AdThe 2021 Hero Open winner sits 98th in this season’s Race to Dubai rankings and added: “I was delighted and what a relief to get in. Obviously it was to make the cut, but it’s moments like that when you get a bit of belief back that it is still there.


“The week before I won at Fairmont St Andrews, we were over at Galgorm and Massereene in Northern Ireland and I played awfully the first day at Massereene but found something on the Thursday afternoon.
“I didn’t actually make the cut that week, but going into the Hero Open I really felt I was in a better place and you just don’t know what is around the corner. It’s such small margins and it doesn’t take much to get things going in the right direction again.”
Forrest cut his golfing teeth at nearby Craigielaw and is teeing up in this year’s Rolex Series event as the new Renaissance Club Charitable Foundation Ambassador.
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Hide Ad“Playing in front of family and friends, it just spurs you on even more,” he confessed. “All the local support means so much as it’s great to play in front of them.
“As an event, it gets better and better every year and so does the weather (laughing). We’ve had two days with barely any wind, which never happens here, trust me.
“As for the fans, it is so important for them to have a good experience and, from what I’ve heard from family members, there’s more to do again this year. Yeah, it’s a great venue to host this event as it’s got the space and it’s got the golf course.
“In addition, you’ve got the willingness of the Sarvadis to have the event. There’s so many golf courses in Scotland, but finding one that is willing to shut the course and have an event this size is great.”
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Hide AdThree Open spots are up for grabs over the weekend, but Forrest admitted: “I’ll need to play a lot better. I’ve not had top 60, I think, since Bahrain, so it’s kind of way below the level I expect of myself.
“My whole game has not really been there and I had to sort of re-evaluate things and get something that was taking me back in the right direction.”
Edinburgh-based Richie Ramsay missed the cut after following his opening 68 with a disappointing 73.
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