Poster boy Forrest aims to emulate Koepka

Grant Forrest is aiming to overcome the shock of arriving in Aviemore this week to see himself plastered on a giant billboard as he bids to win the event that Brooks Koepka used as a springboard to becoming a back-to-back US Open champion.

Forrest, who turned 25 on Tuesday, spearheads a strong home contingent in the £220,000 SSE Scottish Hydro Challenge at Macdonald Spey Valley, where Koepka recorded his third Challenge Tour triumph in quick succession in 2013 to secure an automatic step up to the European Tour.

“The poster coming into the town is a bit scary,” admitted Forrest of him being the focal point of a billboard promoting the event at the south end of the town.

“Who’s that ugly fella?” he added, laughing, when asked what his first reaction had been to seeing it. “I saw a couple of wee promotional flyers, but I didn’t know something that size was going up. It’s nice, though, to see it. It’s pretty cool.”

Forrest’s poster boy status this week has been earned on the back of a strong start to the season on the second-tier circuit. Needing to finish the season in the top 15 to secure a main Tour card, he’s sitting seventh in the Road to Ras Al Khaimah rankings after two runner-up finishes, both after play-offs.

“I’ve been playing nicely and it’s good to come to an event with a bit of form,” said the Craigielaw player, “This is my tenth event in the last 11 weeks, but I’m looking forward to this.”

Koepka, who became the first player since Curtis Strange in 1989 to win back-to-back US Open on Sunday, vindicated why fellow players, caddies and officials were all talking about him as the American posted an 18-under total to claim this prize in 2013.

“Brooks winning here does open your eyes but, if you look at any of the guys who have kicked on from the Challenge Tour, you can take a lot of confidence,” admitted Forrest. “If you can win out here, you know you can succeed at the next level.”