By Martin Dempster

Copyright scotsman

Grant Forrest’s heart was “properly going” when Shane Lowry stood over his crucial putt in the 45th Ryder Cup – even though he was more than 3,000 miles away! Europe were in danger of suffering what would have been a catastrophic defeat at Bethpage Black on Long Island on Sunday until Lowry held his nerve to roll in a six-foot birdie putt on the 18th green. The Irishman jumped with joy as he secured a half point that guaranteed Luke Donald’s side would, at the very least, retain the trophy before Tyrrell Hatton secured victory as the biennial bout ended with a 15-13 scoreline. Four of the European team members – defending champion Hatton, Bob MacIntyre, Tommy Fleetwood and Matthew Fitzpatrick – are now in Scotland for this week’s Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, which starts on Thursday. “Yeah, I had planned to be in my bed by nine o’clock but, unfortunately, that didn’t happen,” said Forrest, who is also teeing up in the $5 million tournament at Carnoustie, Kingsbarns and St Andrews, of the Americans staging an astonishing last-day fightback after starting the singles session trailing by a record seven points. ”Yeah, it was a great spectacle as a sporting event, to have a comeback like that, it was pretty nail-biting, wasn’t it? We outplayed them the first two days and then they just putted slightly better. The margins are so fine and, in the (eight) matches that came down to the 18th, we didn’t get a full point out of any of them.” Forrest, who is chasing a second win of the season on Scottish soil after landing the Nexo Championship at Trump International Golf Links in Aberdeenshire in August, smiled when he was asked if he fancied being in that environment himself one day. “When Shane was over his putt, man, my heart was properly going,” he replied. “I can’t even imagine what he was like. But yeah, just brilliant when he made that. Probably more relief than anything else. Certainly it was for me. “Yeah, it was a great team effort and to get a taste of that would be a career highlight, just to see what it means to be involved, to be a part of it.” Bob MacIntyre, who has now played on two winning teams in the transatlantic tussle, is a Bounce Sport stablemate of Forrest and also a good friend of the East Lothian-based player. “Bob looked very nervous the first year he played,” said Forrest of the Oban man’s debut in Rome two years ago. “Justin [Rose] put him on his back a bit, and I think that was a great pairing. “And you could tell he was a lot more comfortable this year, even in that quite hostile environment. But Bob is always taking everything in his stride, and he’s not scared of anyone, really.”