Grant Forrest joins pro ranks ahead of Alfred Dunhill Links debut

NEWS RELEASE Grant Forrest has turned professional with immediate effect and will make his debut in the paid ranks on home soil in next week's Alfred Dunhill Links Championship.

The 23-year-old, pictured, has secured an invitation for the $5 million European Tour Pro-Am event at
Carnoustie, Kingsbarns and St Andrews, joining recent pro recruit and Bounce Sport stablemate
Ewen Ferguson in the star-studded line-up.
Forrest is making the switch to professional golf on the back of a stellar amateur career, having
racked up a string of impressive victories over the past seven years.
“I've thoroughly enjoyed my time playing amateur golf and will forever be grateful to both Scottish
Golf and The R&A for the experiences and opportunities I've had over the years,” said Forrest.
"However, I feel now is the right time to be setting out on the next chapter of my career and it is
fantastic to get the chance to make my professional debut on home soil in the Alfred Dunhill Links
Championship.”
Forrest gave a glimpse of his potential when winning the Scottish Boys Under-16 Championship in
2009, before backing that up a year later by claiming the Scottish Boys Championship. The Craigielaw
player then landed a third national title by winning the Scottish Amateur Championship at Royal
Dornoch in 2012.
He qualified for the Open Championship at Muirfield in 2013, before in 2014 he won the St Andrews
Links Trophy and played his part in team successes, winning the Palmer Cup (Europe) and St
Andrews Trophy (GB&I).
The following year he reached the final of The Amateur Championship at Carnoustie, a performance
that helped secure his place on the GB&I Walker Cup team that achieved a record victory over the
US at Royal Lytham. During his four years at the University of San Diego, Forrest won four times,
including the Redhawk Invitational at 2015 US Open venue Chambers Bay.
Forrest was also in the Scotland side that achieved back-to-back European Amateur Team titles in
2015 and 2016, with his swansong in the amateur ranks coming as part of the three-man Scotland
team that competed for the Eisenhower Trophy in Mexico last week.
"I have good memories from playing at both Carnoustie and St Andrews and it’s really exciting to
know that I will be competing against major winners and Ryder Cup players in my first event as a
professional,” added Forrest, ahead of his pro debut next Thursday.
Along with Ferguson, Forrest joined the Bounce Sport stable earlier this year and has already
benefitted from playing in some Challenge Tour events as an amateur thanks to the Edinburghbased company’s tie up with Scottish Golf to help ease the am-to-pro transition.
“I would like to thank the Dunhill Links Championship Committee for inviting both Grant and Ewen
to play in this year's tournament,” said Bounce Sport founding partner Iain Stoddart. “We
understand how many requests they receive and how difficult it is to choose who will play.
“It is a privilege to be working with Grant as he embarks on his professional career and, given his
fantastic achievements to date, we see only exciting and successful times ahead.”
Steve Paulding, Scottish Golf Performance Director, added: “Grant has done everything possible to
prepare for the challenges ahead. He has his US college degree, played in two World Amateur Team
Championships, the Walker Cup and two winning European teams. He has played in a number of
professional events and the time is right for him to make the move into the professional game.
“I would personally like to thank him for all he has done for Scottish Golf and wish him good luck for
this next stage in his career. He knows we are there to help him ongoing with our coaching and
sportscotland institute support staff.”
ENDS