Grant Forrest targets PGA Tour card in 2025 after 'lots of positives' this year

Grant Forrest finished the season with a flourish as he capped a brilliant day’s work in the last round of the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai by stiffing a 6-iron at the par-5 18th on the Earth Course at Jumeirah Golf Estates.

Having made seven birdies, including three in a row at the start, prior to that, the 30-year-old signed for a seven-under-par 65, which lifted him into the top 30 in the $10.5 million Rolex Series event as he finished with an eight-under-par total.

“Yeah, it was,” said Forrest of it being a nice way to sign off the campaign. “I played lovely today. I hardly missed a shot. Honestly, it might sound bad, but it was probably the worst it could have been as I think I made one putt outside ten feet and missed a good few chances.”

Finishing in style, though, made amends and he added: “We had a perfect number - 194 yards up the hill a bit - for a 6-iron. We felt the wind was hurting slightly. I aimed it a wee bit right and drew it and it turned out perfect, which was a nice way to finish. I had a weak three-putt bogey at 11 and didn’t birdie two of the par-5s but, all in all, I am happy with that.”

Grant Forrest lines up a putt during the DP World Tour Championship on the Earth Course at Jumeirah Golf Estates in Dubai. Picture: Andrew Redington/Getty Images.

The Pencaitland-based player had been disappointed to finish outside the top 90 in last year’s Race to Dubai but, after getting off to a solid start this time around and producing a string of strong performances, he ended up in the top 40 this season. “All in all, lots of positives,” he said. “The results speak for themselves compared to last year and I’m looking forward to getting going again.”

The fact he was laughing as he said that was due to the fact he’s joining Bob MacIntyre, Calum Hill and Connor Syme in heading to Australia, where the 2024 campaign starts on Thursday. The quartet are playing in both the Fortinet Australian PGA Championship and ISPS Handa Australian Open.

“There’s six events before Christmas and, due to the way the points are being done next season, it kind of forces your hand a bit,” said Forrest. “You feel you need to play something before Christmas and, to be honest, I wouldn’t be doing much at home at this time of the year due to the weather, so it’s nice to be able to keep going for another couple of weeks then still get a good four weeks off.”

The 2021 Hero Open winner, who is getting married at the end of December, is hoping to be in the mix for a PGA Tour card in 12 months’ time as ten will once again be up for grabs through the Race to Dubai.

“Obviously that’s a big carrot,” admitted Forrest. “It’s tough to do. You probably need to win or have a big result in one of the Rolex Series events like Bob did (finishing second in the Genesis Scottish Open) and there’s no reason why not, really.”