Andy DevaneyGrant Forrest must wish he could pack Real Club de Campo Villa de Madrid into his suitcase and take it everywhere.
After a miserable stretch of results, the Scot has returned to one of his favourite hunting grounds and promptly found himself leading the Open de España presented by Madrid. A second-round 67 on Friday moved him to nine under par, one stroke clear of a chasing pack containing plenty of players with their own reasons to fancy the weekend.
Forrest’s opening 66 had earned him a share of the first-round lead. Following it with four under par was a considerably more satisfying way to spend Friday than the early departures that have recently become an unwelcome habit.
Four consecutive missed cuts and a subsequent withdrawal on the Back 9 suggested his game was struggling for traction. Madrid, apparently, has other ideas.
A familiar course brings familiar results
There is something about this particular stretch of Spanish turf that seems to agree with Forrest.
The 33-year-old has never missed the cut in six previous appearances at the Open de España, finishing tied third in both 2021 and 2024. Those results suggest a golfer who understands what the course demands, even when his form elsewhere has been rather less accommodating.
Friday, however, was hardly an exhibition from the opening tee.
Forrest began with a bogey and spent the early part of his round keeping things together. A couple of important par saves prevented the day from slipping away before two excellent approaches produced consecutive birdies at the seventh and eighth.
He reached the turn in 35, then began doing considerably more damage.
Birdies at the tenth and 12th, the latter courtesy of a 32-foot putt, moved him forward. Another bogey at the 13th, a hole that had also cost him a shot on Thursday, threatened to interrupt proceedings.
His response was immediate.
A birdie at the 14th restored momentum before a tidy up-and-down at the last completed a round containing six birdies and two bogeys.
Nine under. Clubhouse lead. Weekend sorted.
Forrest expects a different test over the weekend
Forrest acknowledged that the score was rather better than some of his early golf suggested.
It was a good, really good score in the end. You know, I didn’t have my best stuff on our first five or six holes, but made a couple of really nice par saves to keep the momentum going, and then, yeah, I just managed to make quite a few birdies, started driving it well, you know, the last 12 holes and yeah, delighted with four under. I probably didn’t play quite as well as yesterday.
I think there’s some tough holes out there. You know, the tougher holes are playing into the wind and you just know if you can make no worse than a bogey then we’re going to have plenty of chances and we managed to do that and convert them so yeah, happy with that.
I checked the set-up sheet this morning and saw they were almost half a foot quicker and to be honest that’s what we’re used to here. I’ve been here I think five or six times now so It’s quite weird playing them when they’re so soft and a little bit slower, but I think by Sunday they’ll dry out and they’ll speed them up again and it’ll be the Club de Campo that we’re used to playing.
That changing course set-up could become increasingly significant.
Rain has left conditions softer than players normally encounter in Madrid, with damp rough placing additional importance on finding fairways. The prospect of firmer, quicker greens adds another consideration for a leader whose previous success here has come from knowing how to handle the place.
Four players are only one shot behind
Forrest’s advantage is narrow enough to make Saturday an uncomfortable viewing experience for anyone hoping for a leisurely procession.
Fellow Scot Connor Syme, Switzerland’s Joel Girrbach, Spanish favourite Eugenio Chacarra and England’s Joe Dean are all at eight under.
Syme has plenty happening beyond the ropes. His wife is expecting their child back home, and the couple spent a couple of nights in hospital earlier in the week. She is doing well, although the approaching arrival understandably occupies his thoughts.
On the course, Syme has managed to maintain his concentration through two strong rounds, including a hole-out from approximately 65 yards for birdie on Friday and a successful putt of around 15 feet at his final hole.
Chacarra, meanwhile, is competing with a fractured toe, which sounds an unnecessarily complicated way of negotiating a championship golf course.
The Spaniard has already won two national opens this year and strengthened his position with three birdies in his final five holes, signing for a 69.
Dean, who claimed his maiden DP World Tour victory at the Husqvarna British Masters hosted by Sir Nick Faldo earlier this season, produced a bogey-free 67 to join the group immediately behind Forrest.
Another stroke back at seven under sit Denmark’s Jacob Skov Olesen and Jeff Winther, France’s Martin Couvra and Victor Perez, and New Zealand’s Daniel Hillier.
Couvra and Winther both returned 66s, Perez recorded three consecutive birdies during his 68, and Hillier signed for a 69.
With ten players separated by just two strokes, Forrest has secured the best starting position for the weekend without gaining much breathing room.
Chacarra has more than the Spanish title to chase
The leaderboard also carries consequences for the Race to Dubai Rankings Delivered by DP World.
Patrick Reed, who has led the season-long standings since February, missed the cut in Madrid. A victory for Chacarra on Sunday would take the Spaniard above both Reed and Rory McIlroy.
That gives the home favourite an additional incentive as he attempts to overcome his toe injury and close the one-shot deficit.
Further down the scoring order, Eddie Pepperell produced a finish that could prove important for entirely different reasons.
Needing Race to Dubai points to preserve his playing rights for next season, the Englishman birdied his final hole to make the cut on the number at one over par following a battling 70.
It was hardly the most glamorous route into the weekend, but the scorecard does not award extra marks for appearances.
Forrest, meanwhile, faces a rather more pleasant problem.
He has finished third twice in Madrid and has yet to discover what winning Spain’s national open feels like.
The course has already given him plenty of good memories. This weekend offers the opportunity to improve on all of them.
