It was hard to say what was brighter. Grant Forrest’s smile or the pink hoodie he wore during round two of the Nexo Championship here at the Trump International Golf links.
After a surging, course-record six-under 66, Forrest’s smile edged it as he was left beaming like a cat that had commandeered the entire dairy let alone a saucerful of cream.
It was, by far, the Scot’s best round of a hitherto humdrum season and it thrust him into a one shot lead over Jordan Smith on a seven-under aggregate.
In fact, his delightfully assembled round in the tough conditions was, by his own admission, one of his best and second only to the spectacular 10-under 62 he blasted at the Fairmont St Andrews when he won his maiden DP World Tour title at the Hero Open in 2021.
Forrest got a bit of luck too. A wayward drive on the 14th somehow emerged from the cabbage and bounced back into the fairway. The golfing gods were in a lenient mood.
“That could’ve been a two, three shot swing so I got a lucky break,” he said. “You get enough bad breaks in this game so that was nice to get a good one.”
The job was certainly a good ‘un for Forrest. With just one top-20 finish all season, this was more like it as he reacquainted himself with the sharp end of a leaderboard again.
“I think my best round this season has been four-under which is not great,” added the former Scottish Amateur champion. “I’ve not got it going at all and it has been a grind this year. It was great to get a day like this.
“I’ve missed being in contention. That’s where you want to be so I’m looking forward to the weekend.”
With a display of control and terrific ball-striking, Forrest mounted an early offensive and birdied four of his first five holes. His 6-iron tee-shot into the short 16th, meanwhile, came to rest within tap-in distance.
Forrest rolled in a good 10-footer to save his par on the 17th while he had a final chance to extend his lead on the 18th but was too timorous with his birdie putt from seven-feet.
“It was a great chance but it I didn’t have a great read on it and was a bit of a weak effort down the hill,” he conceded.
Forrest has not played since a share of 22nd in the Genesis Scottish Open at the start of July. He’s not been twiddling his thumbs, of course. You can’t do that when you have an eight-month-old son to keep entertained.
“I’ve had three weeks off at home spending time with the family and I felt quite relaxed coming into this week,” he added.
Smith cemented his place in the upper echelons with a second successive 69 for his six-under total while overnight leader Richard Sterne dropped back to four-under with a one-over 73.
Dutchman Daan Huizing, meanwhile, showed his enduring fondness for the links game with a bogey-free 69 in the lively conditions as he hoisted himself into fourth on three-under.
Those of you who keep a keen eye on the amateur game may recall Huizing’s barnstorming exploits back in 2012 when he won the Lytham Trophy by a staggering 14 shots and the St Andrews Links Trophy by a whopping 11 strokes.
“It was a love affair with links golf,” he said as he reflected on that glory-laden summer on these shores. “I love the turf and seeing shots in the wind. Don’t ask me why but it brings out the best in me.
“I played probably the best golf of my life then in terms of the raw quality of my ball striking and controlling the ball flight both ways. I’ve rarely reached that level again to be honest.”
Huizing has won three times on the second-tier HotelPlanner Tour and he feels a breakthrough on the main DP World Tour is coming.
“A win at his level is in me,” added the 34-year-old. “I see it week in, week out. I have what it takes, I just need to put it all together, like today. I’m not here to finish 10th or 20th. I’m here to win. That’s the life goal.”
Perth’s Danny Young kept ticking along quite the thing with a 72 which left him in a share of 10th on one-under while Marc Warren, David Law, Ryan Lumsden and Martin Laird all eased into weekend.
Laird, making his first appearance on Scottish soil since 2018, had work to do after an opening 77 but, with his young children looking on, he rallied with a battling 70 to make the cut on three-over. Faither can still play.
“I actually played well on day one despite the score,” he said. “But that’s what this course can do to you. If you miss a few putts and hit one or two loose ones, then you make big numbers.”
