Shane Lowry shot a closing three-under 68 to finish tied for 13th at the Open de Espana, but Scotland’s Grant Forrest was the big winner as he claimed victory and invitations to Augusta National and St Andrews.
Lowry moved up four places on the leaderboard courtesy of a bogey-free final round in which he made birdies on the eighth, 10th and 17th holes, and he also climbed two places on the Race to Dubai to 16th.
But Forrest was the main story as he birdied the final hole to secure victory as home favourite Eugenio Chacarra’s charge came up just short.
Chacarra played the front nine in five-under-par to erase Forrest and Joe Dean’s overnight lead at Real Club de Campo Villa de Madrid, before birdieing the last to set the target at -13 and leave Forrest needing a birdie to win.
The Scot delivered, making a good up-and-down from off the front of the 18th green to secure his first DP World Tour victory outside his native Scotland, along with invitations to the 2027 Masters Tournament and the 155th Open Championship at St Andrews.
The 33-year-old had missed his previous four cuts since retiring from the Husqvarna British Masters hosted by Sir Nick Faldo and arrived in Madrid ranked 118th on the Race to Dubai Rankings delivered by DP World. He had finished tied third at this event in 2021 and 2024 before recording another top-20 finish last year.
Jacob Skov Olesen made a birdie-birdie start to take the lead, despite the first hole averaging 0.33 over par for the week as the hardest opening hole of the DP World Tour season. It yielded only one other birdie on Sunday, to Quim Vidal.
Chacarra birdied the second and third before holing an astonishing 47-foot putt over a ridge at the fourth after misjudging his pitch. Olesen bogeyed the third to surrender his early gains, leaving the Spaniard two shots off the lead.
Dean bogeyed the second and Forrest the third, while Joel Girrbach’s birdie at the fourth briefly created a four-way tie at the top alongside Olesen.
After a bogey at the sixth, Chacarra eagled the next with a 40-foot putt from off the green. He had holed 114 feet of putts through seven holes, already more than his 18-hole tally in any of his first three rounds, before a birdie from six feet at the eighth completed an outward nine of 31 and brought him alongside Dean.
Forrest dropped two shots behind after bogeys at the sixth and eighth, while Girrbach and Olesen birdied the seventh and Victor Perez followed with gains at the seventh and eighth.
Dan Brown closed with five consecutive birdies to set the clubhouse target at 11 under. Dean bogeyed the 12th to leave Chacarra and Olesen tied at the top, with Forrest one behind after birdies at the tenth and 13th either side of a bogey at the 11th.
Forrest pulled level with his third birdie in four holes at the 14th, while Chacarra bogeyed the 17th after finding a greenside bunker off the tee.
Chacarra birdied the last to finish at 13 under, joined by Perez, while Forrest got up and down for par after going through the back of the 16th green. Dean dropped a shot, and Olesen bogeyed the 17th to finish fourth at 12 under, with Dean tied fifth at 11 under alongside Brown.
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