MADRID (AP) — Grant Forrest got up-and-down for birdie on the reachable par-4 18th for a 2-under 70 and a one-shot victory in the Spanish Open on Sunday, earning the 33-year-old from Scotland his first trip to Augusta National for the Masters.
Forrest was tied with late-charging Victor Perez of France going to the 322-yard closing hole. Both drove into rough just beyond the green, their golf balls separated by the length of their shoes. Perez chipped to 10 feet and missed. Forest's chip ran out to just over 3 feet for the winning putt.
The victory also gets Forrest into the British Open, which he has played twice previously. The closest he came to the Masters was in 2015 when he was runner-up in the British Amateur.
“It's fairy-tale stuff,” Forrest said. “I've played two Opens. To be going to Augusta, I can't get my head around it. I was close in the Amateur Championship 11 years ago. You can have a great career in this game and never get to Augusta.”
The Spanish Open was among the national opens the Masters identified to invite the winners.
Forrest, who finished on 14-under 270, capped off a tense finish that featured five players with a chance in the final hour.
One of those was Eugenio Chacarra, playing before a hometown gallery in Madrid. He charged from five shots behind with four birdies and an eagle on the front nine before his efforts stalled. Tied for the lead, he made bogey from a bunker on the par-3 17th and a birdie at the last for a 66 was not enough.
Chacarra tied for second with Perez (70), moving the Spaniard ahead of Rory McIlroy to No. 2 in the Race to Dubai.
Denmark's Jacob Skov Olesen (71) also was tied for the lead until his bogey on the 17th. He failed to birdie the 18th and finished fourth.
Forrest won for the third time on the European tour, the other two coming in his native Scotland - the most recent a year ago in the Nexo Championship. But he came to Madrid having failed to make the cut in eight of his last nine tournaments.
He shared the 54-hole lead with Perez, only to fall back with a pair of bogeys toward the end of the front nine. Forrest closed with three birdies over his last six holes.
“I'm in shock, pure shock,” Forrest said. “It's been such a tough year. I've not played well at all. To walk away with a win is unbelievable.”
___
