Given all the hoopla that was whipped up by Robert MacIntyre’s maiden win on the PGA Tour, it’s almost easy to forget that there’s another Scot competing in the US Open.
MacIntyre’s victory in the Canadian Open, which also secured him an exemption to the third major of the season, just about generated a ticker-tape parade along the A85 to Oban.
All golfing roads, meanwhile, lead to Pinehurst this week. Grant Forrest has made the journey to North Carolina having successfully negotiated his way into the US Open field through a pre-qualifier at Walton Heath back in May.
It’s not been a vintage few months for Forrest. Well, on the course at least. Off it, he got married in December and recently discovered that he’s to become a father. Life, then, is good.
“It’s just been a bit slow getting going on the tour,” admitted the 30-year-old, whose last five outings on the DP World Tour have included a withdrawal and three missed cuts.
Forrest maintains that he is playing better than the actual results would suggest. In this topsy turvy pursuit of fickle fortunes, patience remains a virtue.
“But we (professional golfers) are generally not patient people,” he added with a wry chuckle.
“We’re competitive people and patience and that don’t really go too well together. Golf is frustrating when the results aren’t there.
“I’ve actually been playing quite well, just not scoring well. It can be one little part of your game that isn’t there on a given week when everything else might be there.
“You’ve just got to trust the right things and feel you are improving each day. If that’s the case, the results will hopefully come.”
In order to gain an extra edge in this game of fine margins, Forrest has sought the counsel of Glen Gilson, who has become one of the main movers and shakers in the Scottish legal landscape. Apparently, he’s a dab hand with the golf clubs too.
“I just like speaking to successful people outside of golf because the mentality is generally the same,” reasoned Forrest, who earned his maiden DP World Tour win in the Hero Open in 2021.
“Glen has become a bit of a mentor. He’s obviously running one of the biggest law firms in Scotland now and he’s got a very good mindset and knows what it takes to be a high performer.
“You come across some people who are extremely successful in their field and they tend to be able to pick up anything and do it well because of their mindset, not because they are naturally gifted at something.
“It’s the way they think, the way they motivate themselves, the way they do things on a day-to-day basis. That's the reason they’ve become successful.
“Most of us golfers, most sportspeople, need to be hard on ourselves to an extent or we’re not going to get any better. You have certain expectations of yourself and, if you don’t live up to them, then it’s disappointing and you can beat yourself up.
"It’s a case of trying to make sure it doesn’t drag out and let it feed into the next day or the next week or whatever. It’s about picking yourself up and focusing on what you need to do going forward.”
Forrest has played in two majors, the Opens of 2013 and 2018. The US Open will be a step into the unknown, although he did play at Pinehurst in the US Kids Golf Championship as a young ‘un.
Major fields are hardly awash with saltires these days but Forrest insists this modest representation shouldn’t be used as a 5-iron to beat the Scottish game with.
“There’s no doubt the talent is there,” said the former Walker Cup player. “Without sounding as though I am making excuses, I think we are now up against it massively with the Official World Golf Ranking system in terms of getting into the majors.
"It’s very difficult, almost impossible, to get into the top 50 (in the world) through the DP World Tour now without gaining a PGA Tour card.
“But look at someone like Matthieu Pavon? I think he was outside the world’s top-200 going into the Dunhill Links last year then ended up having a great finish to the season and going out to the US and winning.
“I think guys like him give you motivation. You might be only three wins away from changing your career. And your life.”
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