There are tournament leads that feel fragile and others that feel earned over 36 holes. Grant Forrest’s at the Open de Espana sits somewhere between the two: narrow on the scoreboard, but backed by the kind of patient round that keeps you in front of a crowded field.
The Scot reached nine under after a four-under 67 in the second round in Madrid, giving him a one-stroke lead heading into the weekend. It was not a flawless afternoon, and Forrest was the first to admit that. He said he “probably didn’t play quite as well as yesterday,” but the round still had enough resilience and enough late control to keep him on top.
That matters because the chase group is not far away. Forrest is leading a packed board that includes players at eight under and others only one shot further back, which means the margin is slim even if the position is valuable. In that kind of setup, every save and every birdie carries extra weight, and Forrest had both in his second round.
The shape of the round tells the story. Forrest said he did not have his best stuff across the first five or six holes, but he made a couple of important par saves to protect the momentum. After that, the scoring picked up. He made five consecutive birdies from the fourth hole on Thursday on his way to that opening 66, then backed it up with more controlled golf on Friday, finishing with a round he described as “a really good score in the end.”
That balance is one reason his position feels believable. Forrest has now put together two strong days at Club de Campo Villa de Madrid, but he also arrives with a record that suggests this venue suits him. He had finished tied third in Spain’s national open in 2021 and again in 2024, and he had not missed a cut in six previous appearances. This is not a surprise run from nowhere; it is a continuation of a strong pattern.
Forrest also said he started driving it well over the last 12 holes, which helped him close the round cleanly and stay in control. “I’m just going to keep the foot down,” he said, and that feels like the right mindset for a leaderboard that is still tight enough to change quickly.
There is also a broader tournament angle here. Thursday’s leaderboard saw Forrest at five under alongside Connor Syme and Eugenio Chacarra at the end of play, and the second round only sharpened the picture around him. With Patrick Reed having missed the cut, the weekend now offers both a title chase and a ranking thread, with Chacarra still in position to move in the race that was being tracked around Rory McIlroy and Patrick Reed.
Forrest may not have produced his flashiest round, but that is not necessarily a problem. In events like this, the players who win are often the ones who can stay steady when the scoring gets crowded. At the halfway point in Madrid, Forrest has done exactly enough to turn a strong week into a real one.
Saturday’s live coverage on Sky Sports Golf is scheduled for 12.30pm, and the weekend begins with Forrest where every frontrunner wants to be: one shot ahead, and still in control of his own story.
