Grant Forrest opens up on 'surreal' Donald Trump phone call and his 'rock' during struggle

Yes, it was at Trump International Golf Links at Balmedie in Aberdeenshire where the 32-year-old returned to winning ways, landing a second DP World Tour triumph four years and two days after securing his breakthrough victory in the Hero Open at Fairmont St Andrews.

And, yes, he’s now a life member at the venue, which was afforded him by Trump in addition to picking up a top prize worth $467,500, as well as a $10,000 bonus for setting a course-record with his six-under-par 66 in the second round.

As he was speaking to this correspondent and a fellow Scottish golf scribe, Forrest was suddenly whisked away as someone mentioned he had to go and “take a call” and it was no surprise that it subsequently emerged on social media that it was from Trump.

Out playing golf himself at Trump International in Washington DC, the US president said he’d “watched” the event and described Forrest as “some player”. He added that “I look forward to playing with him…in fact I will play with him tomorrow if he can get on a plane”.

Earlier in his life, Forrest might just have been tempted to do that, especially after having a spell at university in San Diego, but not now. Not with a wife and young child and, boy, was it appropriate that Christy and nine-month-old Spencer joined Forrest on the 18th green after he’d holed the winning put and celebrated with a joyous roar.

“She’s amazing. She’s my rock,” said Forrest of his wife, who is a trained nurse and has a demeanour that has clearly played a part in him pulling off a win that has transformed his current season and could be the launchpad for bigger and better things over the next few years.

“As golfers, we are probably a lot more up and down than most people and I am certainly more up and down than she is. She has such a great level head and she is the best mum as well to Spencer. When things are tough, that’s when you have to lean on your partner and she is absolutely the best at that. I am very lucky to have her.”

$200,000 bonus teed up in DP World Tour’s Closing Swing

On the back of his four-shot success, Forrest has gone from a position where he was fighting to retain his DP World Tour card to sitting 28th - a climb of 85 spots - in the Race to Dubai. He’s now on course to make the season-ending DP World Tour Championship and leads the Closing Swing, the winner of which secures entry into all events on the Back 9 and a $200,000 bonus, with one event to go.

Yet, at the end of the BMW International Open in Munich at the beginning of July, the East Lothian-based player was in a real downbeat mood, declaring: “My golf is just not there just now.”

It was a timely confidence boost, therefore, when he finished just outside the top 20 in the Genesis Scottish Open at The Renaissance Club, where he is attached, and, over four challenging days in the North-East, Forrest certainly showed that, on his day, he’s got an all-round game that would stand him good stead on the biggest stages in the sport.

“Yeah, I know,” he said, smiling, in reply to being asked if he could believe he’d have been in a position to pick up a trophy in such a short space of time. “I’d not had the best of seasons and it is just a reminder how crazy this game is and how quickly things can turn around. When you are going through something like that, it feels a lot further away than it actually is. But sometimes you just need something to spark it or flip the switch. Those three weeks after the Scottish Open, I managed to get some good work done.

“I also went down to Woburn and spent a day there with Titleist and we made a few tweaks to the equipment. You always think it is you when you are struggling, but there were some gains to be made with the equipment side and it has definitely made a big difference this week, especially in these conditions.”

The weekend win, which came with a new caddie, Shane O’Connell, on the bag, catapulted him from 294th to 168th in the Official World Golf Ranking, having been a career-best 134th in the global standings early last year. He finished 36th in the Race to Dubai after his first Scottish success in 2021 before slipping to 96th the following season, but, on the back of a bigger second victory on home soil, it would be no surprise if he really kicked on.

“Yeah, I mean it is tough to win out here,” he replied to being asked what he could learn from the period after the Hero Open. “You forget that you do it once and you think you should do it again straight away or the next year. But it’s not that easy. A lot of things have to fall into place to win. You have 150-odd guys every week that you need to beat and golf is such a fickle game.

‘Biggest cheque I’ve picked up in my career’

“A bounce here and there and I had a couple go my way last week. That can be the difference. It’s just trying to remind yourself that, while it is not easy to win, it is more about trying to put yourself in that position.”

As he’ll be aiming to do again in next week’s Betfred British Masters hosted by Sir Nick Faldo at The Belfry but, for the time being, he deserves to savour this success. “It is the biggest cheque I’ve picked up in my career and a week like this is what you do it for,” he declared.

As for his phone call from Trump, Forrest admitted: “It was a bit of a whirlwind to find out I was doing it. Obviously quite surreal. You are speaking to the president of the US and how many US presidents own a Scottish golf course?”

This one, of course, actually owns two, with Turnberry also under the Trump banner.