MADRID — Scotland's Grant Forrest birdied the final hole at the Spanish Open on Sunday to seal the biggest win of his career, collecting the £480,000 first prize, invitations to the Masters and The Open next year and a jump of 156 places to 140th in the world rankings.
The 33-year-old held off playing partner Victor Perez, who missed his chance to overtake clubhouse leader Eugenio Chacarra, to claim his third DP World Tour title and his first professional win outside Scotland. "When the stage was set for me to try and hole the winning putt, my hands were shaking," Forrest told BBC Scotland. "I don't know how I managed to make it go in. Delighted that it did, obviously."
"I don't think I've ever been as nervous on a golf course," Forrest said, adding the victory brought "a lot of validation, relief as well" after making his professional bow more than a decade ago. He credited his routine down the stretch, saying, "You just fall back into your routine. Breathing has been a huge part of what I've worked on recently - and that really helped throughout the whole day."
The win secures a Masters debut in April for Forrest, who attended Augusta National as a spectator in 2019. "It's just an incredibly special place," he said. "To have the opportunity to play hasn't sunk in yet." He has played The Open twice before, at Muirfield in 2013 and Carnoustie in 2018, and added, "Playing a third at St Andrews is going to be incredible."
Forrest graduated from the European Challenge Tour to the DP World Tour at the end of the 2018 season alongside compatriots Robert MacIntyre and David Law, and pointed to recent Scottish success from Connor Syme, Scott Jamieson and Ryder Cup star MacIntyre as fuel. "It gives you positive energy when one guy succeeds," he said. After what he called "a surreal 24 hours" with little sleep, Forrest flew from Madrid to New Delhi for the DP World India Championship.