Scotland’s Grant Forrest won the Spanish Open on Sunday, finishing with a birdie on the 18th to edge Spaniard Eugenio Chacarra.
The victory also earned Forrest spots at next year’s Open Championship in Scotland and the Masters, as well as a prize of more than half a million euros.
“I’ve played two Opens and to be going to Augusta, I just can’t get my head round it,” said Grant Forrest, 33.
“You can have a great career in this game and never get to go to Augusta, so I cannot believe it.”
Home favourite Chacarra, who played despite a painful broken toe, was in the clubhouse on 13 under before Forrest’s closing birdie secured victory.
Grant Forrest and Dean share lead ahead of final round in Madrid
Grant Forrest remains in contention for a wire-to-wire victory at the Open de España presented by Madrid after producing a brilliant burst of scoring on the back nine to share the lead with Joe Dean heading into the final round.
The Scot began the day with a one-shot lead but slipped down the leaderboard after following birdies at the third and fourth with a bogey and five pars in favourable scoring conditions.
He bounced back brilliantly, though, reeling off birdies at the 11th, 14th and 16th to reach 13 under par and grab a share of the lead alongside Englishman Dean.
Sheffield native Dean completed a fightback of his own on Saturday as he birdied the last from 31 feet to banish the memory of his previous two holes.
Eight birdies in his first 15 holes had seen Dean open up a three-shot lead at the top but his advantage was wiped out altogether when he followed up a double bogey on the 16th with a bogey at the 17th.
But those fireworks from Dean at the 18th made it a tie at the top, with Joel Girrbach, Victor Perez and Jacob Skov Olesen one shot behind on 12 under.
Grant Forrest holds halfway lead at Open de España
Grant Forrest continued his good record at Real Club de Campo Villa de Madrid to take a one-stroke lead into the weekend at the Open de España presented by Madrid.
The Scot has twice finished tied third in Spain’s national open, in 2021 and 2024, and has never missed the cut across his six previous appearances.
He held a share of the lead after a first-round 67 and he backed it up with a 68 on Friday to reach nine under, with countryman Connor Syme and Switzerland’s Joel Girrbach as his nearest challengers.
Eugenio Chacarra, who is playing on home soil with a fractured toe, and Joe Dean are both at eight under, with Danish duo Jacob Skov Olesen and Jeff Winther a shot further back, alongside French pair Martin Couvra and Victor Perez and New Zealand’s Daniel Hillier.
Patrick Reed, who has led the Race to Dubai Rankings Delivered by DP World since February, missed the cut and Chacarra will leapfrog both Rory McIlroy and the American with a victory on Sunday.
Eddie Pepperell, who is in need of Race to Dubai points to preserve his playing rights next season, was among those to make the cut on the number at one over after birdieing his final hole in a battling 70.
Chacarra shares lead after day one on home soil
Race to Dubai contender Eugenio Chacarra battled through the pain barrier with a fractured toe to hold a share of the lead after day one of the Open de España presented by Madrid.
One of 20 Spaniards in the field this week, the three-time DP World Tour winner sustained an injury while making a midnight trip for a glass of water while in the United States last week but was determined to tee it up in his national open on Thursday.
Twice a winner already this season, claiming victories at national opens in the Netherlands and Italy over back-to-back starts in the summer, he carded a five-under-par 66 that contained two eagles as he was later joined at the summit of the leaderboard by Scottish duo Connor Syme and Grant Forrest.
Starting on the tenth, Chacarra bogeyed the 12th but he got into the red with an eagle at the 15th, before a birdie at the ninth saw him get to two under for his front nine.
Birdies at the second and fourth quickly had him at four under, but he gave them back immediately with back-to-back bogeys at the fifth and sixth.
A sensational approach to within four feet set up an eagle at the par-five seventh and he closed out his round with a birdie at the par-three ninth to set the clubhouse target.
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