Oh, we like being by the beach. “Costa del Logian” smiled Grant Forest at the sparkling sun-stained scene where Judith Chalmers enjoyed an episode of Wish Your Hoses.
Forest certainly is happy he’s here for the weekend. So does Robert McInteal.
The open champion of Ovan’s monarch Scott Tisch was facing an early exit when she slid outside the cut mark and dug out, showing normal resolve and pulling herself back within the safety zone.
His 1 over 71 was not of beauty, but it got the job done and he ended with a 1 under limit.
“I played very badly,” admits McIntyre, sighing quite a bit of relief.
Things seemed particularly dark when he lost his drive on the 13th and ended up with a potentially catastrophic double bogey six.
“This was one of the worst shots I’ve hit during the season,” he said of the tee shot that sailed outside the boundaries.
“At the time I was like, ‘Well, this is a curtain.’ I might have lost the plot there, but I thought, “We have to keep fighting here.” ”
And he fought. The salvage operation began immediately. MacIntyre knocked a tee shot four feet on the 14th on the par 3, engulfing birdie chances.
On the 17th, the Scots threatened the flag again, visited 6 irons three feet, giving birth to another birdie when they returned to 1 under for the championship.
“I think I grew up in Glen Cruthinte on a short golf course with a PAR-3S load,” he said of Two’s important braces.
Two putts from the distance of the PAR where he finally completed recovery.
“There’s no other way to explain today besides a slower performance,” added the Rider Cup player. “But I fought it and took it root, and then ran away.”
Meanwhile, Forest enjoyed a more gentle passage to the closing 36 holes. In his own backyard in East Lothian, the 32-year-old moved to a 5-under total with a barely trouble-free 68.
“Linkgolf is difficult to beat when it’s dry and sunny,” Forest said.
Home comfort certainly makes him tee this week. “I just need to be at home,” he said of domestic bliss. “You can also stick a barbecue on it at times like this.”
Forest has been wrestling with his game this season, but there continues to be a faint hope of hope that his destiny can change.
“There are some shots from time to time, and you may not be happy with the blows, but you pull them apart and something like that can turn things around,” added the former Scottish amateur champion who won the DP World Tour in 2021.
A good example of such a morale booster came on the par 5 10th. Forest had just leaked the only shot of the day in the previous hole, but after hitting a cracked drive, he unleashed five woods 20 feet and 2 putts for a birdie.
Forest and McIntyre will be joined by Connor Sim’s Fifer over the weekend.
However, Calum Hill, who shot the lead after 65 in round 1, endured a furious second day, and after crushing the 77, he missed a two-over cut.
The 30-year-old hadn’t made a bogey in his opening round, but he stumbled on five on the first nine holes of round two, causing him to drop in the rankings.
Ewen Ferguson and Richie Ramsay also finished with a total of two overs and joined the Scotland victim list.
