ALASTAIR Forsyth yesterday lent his support to the Clubgolf programme which aims to introduce every Scottish nine-year-old to the game by vowing to improve his own performances and set a successful example to the next generation of players.
"It's been well documented about the lack of success among the (Scottish] pros," said the Paisley golfer.
"I think I speak for just about all of the Scottish guys on Tour when I say the better they do, the better it will be for Scottish golf. The
re are some good players and it's getting harder and harder, but the more (Scottish] guys come on Tour, obviously the better."
With 33,000 schoolchildren due to be introduced to the game in Scotland this year – one of the youngsters who attended the press conference at Loch Lomond yesterday fell sound asleep during the briefing – Forsyth believes a successful junior programme is vital for the sport's future in the home of golf.
As to his own form, a recent run of modest displays has left the winner of the Madeira Open in March feeling frustrated. "It's been a strange season, because if I played the way I can play, I can see what results I can have," he explained.
"Finishing down the field for the last couple of months has been frustrating because my form hasn't been good. And we've been playing some really good tournaments where I haven't been anywhere near my best game.
"I'm just going to try and get back to the form that I had early on in the year, and then I can hopefully start to compete again."
Neither Forsyth nor Stephen Gallacher, who finished eighth at the European Open last week, are in next week's Open. Needing to finish here as the leading non-exempt player in the top five, the Bathgate golfer rated his chances of teeing up at Birkdale as a million to one.
His golf, though, is on the mend after a tip from a former Ryder Cup captain.
"It's not about how well you hit the ball, it's about beating the other 145 guys you're playing against," he said.
"I spoke about it to my uncle Bernard and he said just to go away, spend more time on short game, putting and distance control from 100 yards in.
"That's what I've done and I played a few good chip shots last week – sometimes a good up and down is as good as a birdie, because it gets the momentum going."
The full article contains 424 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
