Not Rose, not Åberg, not Lowry and not Reed. By the end of the opening round of the Open de España presented by Madrid, it wasn’t the expected big names that had fought their way to the top of the leaderboard alongside Eugenio Chacarra, but a pair of Scots. After round one, Connor Syme and Grant Forrest share the lead with the Spaniard on -5, although they got there in very different ways.
Syme is defying all the odds. Few would have backed him to make such a start, given his recent record in Madrid. The 31-year-old from Kirkcaldy had missed the cut on his two previous visits to the Spanish capital, and his best result at Real Club de Campo Villa de Madrid was a modest tie for 34th. He had not broken par here since 2021.
On Thursday, however, he produced a personal-best round at this venue. Syme signed for a 66, featuring six birdies and a solitary bogey. He came hurtling out of the blocks. Starting his day on the 10th tee, he made five birdies in his first eight holes to surge to the top of the leaderboard. He then changed pace; fewer fireworks and plenty of composure to protect his score. He even reached six under par at one point, but an error from the tee on the penultimate hole saw him slip back to -5.
If Syme is the surprise package, then Grant Forrest represents almost exactly the opposite. Madrid suits him well. Very well indeed. The Scot has played the tournament six times and made the cut on every occasion. He has also finished third twice; in 2021 and again in 2024. On Thursday, he proved once again that Real Club de Campo Villa de Madrid is a particularly happy hunting ground for him.
Forrest was playing in one of the last matches of the day and the conditions had taken a turn for the worse. However, his game seemed to improve as the weather did the opposite. He eventually signed for seven birdies and two bogeys, taking advantage of all three par fives and finishing with three birdies in his final six holes to join Syme and Chacarra at the top of the leaderboard.
But it could have been even better. On the final hole, Forrest had the outright lead within his grasp. A spectacular tee shot earned him an 8-foot putt for birdie, but it refused to drop. He came within inches of ending Thursday as the sole leader. The result leaves us with an intriguing situation at the top; two Scots with the same score, but very different relationships with Madrid.
Syme has found the lead after years of struggling to get to grips with this course and in a season in which he sits 145th in the Race to Dubai. However, his card for 2027 is secure thanks to his victory at the KLM Open in the Netherlands, the first of his DP World Tour career.
Forrest, by contrast, appears to have found in the Spanish capital one of those places to which he always looks forward to returning. Two Scots. Two completely different histories, and both alongside Eugenio Chacarra, looking down on the rest from the top of the leaderboard.
