Alastair Forsyth is relishing the opportunity to focus on his own game for a change as he prepares to launch the defence of his Loch Lomond Whiskies Scottish PGA Championship title at Scotscraig.
The 47-year-old claimed the Arnold Clark Tartan Tour’s most cherished prize at West Kilbride last season, 22 years after he landed the national crown for the first time.
With a jam-packed coaching diary to deal with at the Mearns Castle facility, Forsyth doesn’t get much time to regularly fine tune his own golfing skills these days.
But the two-time DP World Tour champion is hoping he can shake off any rust and mount a robust challenge in the domestic circuit’s flagship event.
“We don’t get the luxury of two or three days of practice ahead of a big event,” said Forsyth, who pipped Paul O’Hara to the title last year in a thrilling play-off. “I don’t get time to work on my own game much and it tends to be a case of turning up at an event and just seeing what happens.
“Tee to green is usually pretty solid but it can be the short game that can be rusty and that’s the area that needs to be sharp or it can cost you three or four shots a round.
“This is our big week on the Tartan Tour. It’s a 72-holer and these are the type of events I spent most of my career playing in. It will be nice to focus on my own game, get into the tournament mode and hopefully do well.”
Despite his other golfing commitments, Forsyth still rises to the occasion in the competitive cut-and-thrust. His second-place finish in the Kerr Investments 36-holer at Dumfries & Galloway last week was his third runners-up finish in an Order of Merit event this season.
“I’ve been pretty steady this year,” he added. “Last week, I couldn’t hole anything on the final day and ended up missing out by a shot. If I can sharpen my putting up for the Scottish PGA, I should be in good shape. Seeing your name on a trophy is always special and getting to defend a title gives you an extra buzz.”
Scotscraig, one of the world’s oldest clubs and a former host of Open qualifying, is staging the Loch Lomond Whiskies Scottish PGA Championship for the first time.
David Longmuir, the manager of The PGA in Scotland, said: “I am delighted that The Loch Lomond Whiskies Scottish PGA Championship is heading to Scotscraig for the first time. I want to thank everyone at Scotscraig for providing us with a course befitting of our premier Arnold Clark Tartan Tour event of the year. The club and course is steeped in history and we are delighted that we have assembled a very good field of PGA professionals for this year’s championship.
“I hope the members of Scotscraig can come along and witness some marvellous golf on their own course and meet some of our most experienced and talented professionals. The PGA in Scotland is indebted to Liam Greasley and his team for the support and enthusiastic welcome we have received in the build up to the event and we all know that the course will provide a challenging and memorable test of golf.”
