MADRID -- Scottish golfer Elliot Saltman made a hole-in-one during his second round at the Madrid Masters and earned a tasty prize -- his body weight in ham.
Saltman made the shot from the par-3 third hole at El Encin Golf Hotel. Heavily cured and salted ham is a Spanish delicacy.
"I've been trying to lose weight, but now I'm thinking I should have just kept it," Saltman said.
Saltman weighs approximately 235 pounds, according to the European Tour media guide.
Despite the feat, the No. 686-ranked player is well off the
leaders' pace. After two rounds, he was 3 over and 14 shots behind
clubhouse leader Lee Slattery of England.
Saltman has a knack of carding holes-in-one -- he hit two in
different rounds at the 17th hole in the Wales Open in June.
Ham was the prize offered for a hole-in-one at the third -- prizes on other holes included a car and a watch.
Saltman's only problem is getting the "excess baggage" back to Scotland.
"I don't think they'll let me take that on the plane," he said.
In January, Saltman got a three-month ban from the European Tour for marking his ball incorrectly at a Moscow tournament in September 2010. He did not appeal the suspension, but insisted that he did not cheat -- and said he passed a lie detector test to prove it.
Saltman was the first professional to be banned from the European
Tour since 1992, when Johan Tumba of Sweden was suspended for 10
years for altering his scorecard at qualifying school.
Information from The Associated Press is included in this report.