MADRID — Scotland's Grant Forrest birdied the 322-yard par-four 18th hole to win the Spanish Open at 14 under par, edging home favourite Eugenio Chacarra and France's Victor Perez by one shot and securing invitations to next year's Masters and The Open. Forrest closed with a one-under 70 to seal his third DP World Tour title and his first professional win outside Scotland, taking the £480,000 first prize after both he and Perez found the greenside rough off the tee and Perez's birdie putt drifted past.
Going into the final round in a share of the lead with England's Joe Dean on 13 under, Forrest birdied the fourth but bogeyed the third, sixth and eighth to slip two shots off the pace. He showed excellent resilience on the back nine, making three birdies and a bogey in five holes to move back into a share of the lead before producing a tidy up-and-down at the last to finish on 14 under, with Chacarra already in the clubhouse at 13 under alongside Perez, while Jacob Skov Olesen, Dan Brown and Dean finished on 12 under.
"I'm in pure shock just now," Forrest said. "It's been such a tough year. I've got good memories of this course and this tournament. To do it is unbelievable." He added: "It was tough. I wasn't too sure what other groups were doing. It was a matter of staying in it. I dug in so well." On the major rewards, he said: "That's fairytale stuff, I've played two Opens and to be going to Augusta, I just can't get my head round it. You can have a great career in this game and never get to go to Augusta, so I cannot believe it."
Ludvig Aberg finished on 10 under, Shane Lowry on eight under, while Marco Penge and Francesco Molinari were among those on seven under. The victory capped a dramatic final day that followed Chacarra and Olesen sharing the lead at 13-under heading into Sunday, with Forrest now set for his Masters debut at Augusta next April alongside a return to The Open.