ALFRED DUNHILL LINKS CHAMPIONSHIP

September 30, 2025

Grant Forrest

Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: Last year at St Andrews this week for the Alfred Dunhill Link Championship. How much are you looking forward to it.

GRANT FORREST: Every year, it's a special, special week and a unique event for us playing the Pro-Am format. To get the chance to play three of the best links courses in the world, we're really lucky.

Q. You clearly love playing in Scotland. What is it about playing at home?

GRANT FORREST: It must be the wind and the links turf. Yeah, I've had -- obviously growing up, playing on links courses, and I would be the St Andrews Links Trophy back in 2014, as well. I've got quite a good record on links and just quite comfortable in it.

Q. A unique format this week playing with the amateurs, is that something you enjoy?

GRANT FORREST: It's neat. You meet some really interesting people, whether it's another sports person or actor, and there's some really successful businessmen here as well. It's great to learn from all the people you meet here, and you know, a lot of the same guys come back every year. Yeah, it's just a really nice week.

Q. Did you watch the Ryder Cup last week?

GRANT FORREST: Yeah, I had planned to be in my bed by nine o'clock but unfortunately that didn't happen. Yeah, it was a great spectacle as a sporting event, to have a comeback like that, it was pretty nail-biting, wasn't it.

You know, we outplayed them first two days, and then they just putted slightly better, and the margins are so fine and the matches came down to the 18th. We didn't get a full point out of any of them.

Q. Fancy putting yourself in that environment?

GRANT FORREST: When Shane was over his putt, man, my heart was properly going. I can't even imagine what he was like. But yeah, just brilliant when he made that. Probably more relief than anything else. Certainly it was for me.

Yeah, it was a great team effort and yeah, fair play to the Americans. To get a taste of that would be a career highlight, career goal to make that team, just to see what it means to be involved, to be a part of it.

Q. What's the difference between you now and getting to that level?

GRANT FORREST: Small margins but yeah, just play a bit better. It's as simple as that.

Q. Saying that, a good friend like Bob, two-time winner in the Ryder Cup.

GRANT FORREST: Bob, looked very nervous the first year he played. Justin put him on his back a bit, and I think that was a great pairing, just to get that first round, get through it. And then, yeah, you could tell, he was a lot more comfortable this year. Even in that quite hostile environment.

But you know, Bob is always taking everything in his stride, and he's not scared of anyone, really.

Q. Looked like Sunday afternoon, the winning putt could come down to Bob.

GRANT FORREST: Yeah, it was looking like it could have been that way at Marco Simone, as well, for a while. Yeah, I think he'd have been a good man to have in the back. I'm sure that's why Luke put him there.

Q. In all of that, you talked about pressure, and also needing a little bit more experience. In your second win, how do you feel look you have improved handling pressure?

GRANT FORREST: Yeah, it was definitely different this time, just the scenario, because at the Fairmont, the scoring was quite low. Although I was leading going out, I knew I still was going to have to attack and make birdies.

This year was different because the conditions were tough and I had a four-shot lead going into the last round. It was just a slightly different mentality but I think I handled it well, having the experience, knowing I've done it before definitely helped. You know, just made three good par saves the first three holes, and that really settled the nerves. I wouldn't say it was plane sailing after that, but that kind of settled me. I felt comfortable after those first three holes, yeah.

Q. And then coming into a week like this on the back of a few missed the cut, do you feel, I guess, confident because you know you have that experience coming down the stretch?

GRANT FORREST: Yeah, definitely. You know, been out here for seven years now. Played a lot of tournaments. Yeah, I think just as time goes on, the more experience you have, the more comfortable you get in certain positions.

But again, you're sort of -- there are steps up. Like you go from winning the Fairmont and then you go to -- there are bigger events. Irish Open, I was right in contention a couple years ago. Yeah, that sort of first time you make that jump, it is uncomfortable.

But it's just about getting comfortable with being uncomfortable and getting used to those new situations and how you handle it and seeing it as an opportunity and not something to be sort of scared of.

Q. A strong Scottish contingent in the field this week. Everyone seems to be winning. Does that spur you on in a particular way, seeing the Scottish guys doing well? Does that get you hyped up?

GRANT FORREST: I believe so. Seeing Bob, Connor and Callum winning earlier in the year, it was great to see. Connor, that was Connor's first win, and it's hard to win. You have to beat 155 guys every week.

I wasn't even in South Africa, so I enjoyed watching it. Yeah, Connor just played brilliantly. We all know how tough it is, what it takes to win, mentally and your preparation and everything that goes into it.

So yes, it's just there's a lot of mutual respect between us all, and yeah, we all root for one another. It's a great sort of environment, great rapport between us all.