Honeymoon plans see Grant Forrest sit out Qatar Masters after unexpected addition

Grant Forrest plays a shot from a bunker during last week's Bahrain Championship presented by Bapco Energies at Royal Golf Club in Bahrain. Picture: Ross Kinnaird/Getty Images.

Scot sets sights on ‘couple of things I need to improve to get to the next level’

Grant Forrest, the top Scot after the early exchanges in the 2024 Race to Dubai, is a notable absentee in this week’s Commercial Bank Qatar Masters due to it being a fairly late addition to the schedule.

It was on 19 December when the DP World Tour announced the $2.5 million event had been added to its new International Swing, which started with a Dubai double-header before visiting Ras Al Khaimah and Bahrain.

After this week’s event at Doha Golf Club, the Kenya Open and two tournaments in South Africa will complete this phase of the schedule, but, for Forrest, this week is a frustrating missed opportunity before turning his attention to the Asian Swing.

The 30-year-old and wife Christy picked this particular week for their honeymoon after getting married at Archerfield in East Lothian between Christmas and New Year, hence why Forrest, in a rare post on social media, said something with a sarcastic tone when the dates for the Qatar event were confirmed.

It means the 2021 Hero Open winner, who sits in the Race to Dubai after starting the new campaign by finishing joint-fourth in the ISPS Handa Australian Open before making three cuts in his four starts in the Middle East, will not be back in competitive action until the Porsche Singapore Open towards the end of next month.

Forrest finished 38th in last season’s Race to Dubai, recording six top-ten finishes in the progress. That was pleasing after a disappointing 2022 campaign, but the former Scottish Amateur champion is still looking for improvement. “I have things in mind I want to do. It’s more performance-based than results-based, I’d say,” he said of his goals for this year. “I’m looking to tighten up a couple of aspects of my game from last year with the hope that will have a bearing on me having better results.

“The main one is to achieve a bit more driving accuracy off the tee. I’ve already done some work with Titleist, who have put a new driver in the bag that is definitely easier for me to manage. I’m also looking to get a little bit better in terms of approach play but, all in all, everything is in a good place.

“You know, last year I had a lot of good results, but I wouldn’t necessarily say I was that comfortable or happy with my game the whole way through the season. Especially in the second half, it was a bit of a battle.

“Having said that, I was still able to have a good result in Ireland and same again in Australia before Christmas. It’s nice knowing that I can still get results when I’m not feeling that good about my game and that’s what you kind of have to do when you are making a living out of it. But, to try and get to the next level and win golf tournaments, there are a couple of things I need to improve a little bit.”

Is he feeling any added pressure playing as a married man? “No, I don’t think so,” he replied, laughing. “Not from Christy anyway but maybe from myself. Obviously it’s a once-in-a-lifetime thing. The build up was big and, after the day itself, it takes a few days to come down from it all.”