Forrest Dedicates Maiden Tour Win At Hero Open To Memory Of His Late Father

4 years ago by Comments Off on Forrest Dedicates Maiden Tour Win At Hero Open To Memory Of His Late Father

A teary-eyed Grant Forrest dedicated a maiden European Tour victory at the Hero Open to the memory of his late father, Graeme.

Forrest, 28, brilliantly birdied his closing two holes to win by a shot with a closing round 66 and a 24-under par tally on the Torrance course at the Fairmont resort in St. Andrews.

The Craigielaw golfer was one shot back of England’s James Morrison before landing his tee-shot at the par-3 17th to within virtual tap-in distance and then at the uphill par-5 last, Forrest hit a stunning second shot 2-iron to the back of the green and calmly two-putted for the winning birdie.

Forrest is the first Scot to win in Scotland since Paul Lawrie captued the 2012 Johnnie Walker Champioship at Gleneagles.

An emotional Grant Forrest dedicates his first Tour win to his late father. (Photo – European Tour)

It was in 2012 and just a few weeks capturing the Scottish Amateur title when the then 19-year-old lost his father, and who would have turned 50 on the weekend of Forrest’s triumph at Royal Dornoch.

Forrest said: “Losing my dad in 2012 was a big change in our lives, and it was difficult to deal with and we do deal with in different ways.

“I’ve just put a lot of my focus into my golf and clearly wishing he was here to see me win.

“He’s been my inspiration for me to have knuckled down and kept going when times were tough.”

Forrest’s mother, Audery had been in tears nine-year ago when he won the pinnacle of Scottish men’s amateur golf and she also in tears along with other members of his family.

Bizarrely, Forrest had made his European Tour debut also in 2012 and Lawrie was hand at the Fairmont Resort to congratulate Scotland’s newest Tour winner.

It had taken legendary Scot Sam Torrance 61 Tour events before his maiden Tour victory at Wentworth while Open Champion Lawrie waited 49 events in savouring a maiden win in Spain.

Forrest had his last as an amateur with his 2016 Battle Trophy triumph at close-by Crail and now a first pro career victory just a 10-minute drive away.

The win will see Forrest jump nearly 60 spots to 31st on the Race to Dubai while he’ll jump 165 spots to be the new World No. 172nd.

Forrest said: “Golf is a funny game as you never know when it is quite going to be your week.   Last week was completely the opposite for me as things didn’t go my way in missing the cut.

“You just doing the right things and trusting that and fortunately this week was my week”.

Forrest headed into the final round sharing the lead with fellow Scot Calum Hill though a bogey at the second checked his progess before stamping his presence with back-to-back birdies at three and four.

The Craigielaw golfer then birdied the par-5 sixth for a fourth day running ahead of his ‘shot of the day’ in landing his tee shot to just three feet for a birdie at the par-3 eight hole.

Forrest was three shots behind Hill, who capped his round with an eagle ‘3’ at the sixth, but that would all change with Forrest bizarrely grabbing back-to-back birdies on 10 and 11 to come from three behind to be three shots clear at 23-under-par.

Hill’s challenge sadly ended when he three-putted the ninth for only his third bogey of the day but it all came unstuck in finding gorse down the right of the 10th and having to take a penalty drop on route to a double-bogey ‘6’.

Morrison was on the charge with five birdies in succession from the 11th hole and when Forrest bogeyed the 16th, the Scot was now one behind Morrison and looking to end a six-year winless run.

Forrest superbly accepted the challenge to become the 26th Scot to win on the Tour and in what is a 142nd Tartan success in the Tour’s 49th year.

Spain’s Santiago Tarrio (68) was third at 20-under par and with the Scottish duo of Hill (70) and Aberdonian’s David Law (68) sharing fourth place at 20-under par.

 



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