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SAAB WALES OPENJune 5, 2011Elliot SaltmanNEWPORT, WALES ELLIOT SALTMAN: I got one on Thursday with an 8-iron. And then I birdied 15 to go to 1-under, bogeyed 16, and then all I'm thinking was try and par this, or even at best, two and four at the last. I got 190 to the pin and I've hit a great 7-iron and it's bounced one and in it pops and you can tell by the crowd and that was it, so level par back up to 2-under. And I just missed another eagle chance on the last but 3-under to finish. It's great. I'm so excited, the last hole-in-one was Thursday, but apart from, that God knows when, but the finish, just amazing. Q. Of course you've done it twice on 17. There's a car on 13. ELLIOT SALTMAN: Well, I've actually got a Saab. I think that's why I've not got it on 13 this time, and 13 has been an unlucky number for me but I've tried to change it around to see if 13 is a good number, but I think 17 now is a lucky number. You know, things happen and to have two in one week, I've never heard of it before, and to do it myself was just brilliant. Q. It has happened in the past, but a long, long time ago, a very rare occurrence. You must be jinxed after the Mercedes incident in Mallorca. ELLIOT SALTMAN: That was the thing I went up and looked inside the car and I thought, that's nice, I quite fancied that and I got up on the hole and it sitting right behind it. At the time I was gutted. But to come here and that 17th hole, I've only ever seen in The Ryder Cup, and it's a great hole, and as I say, it's playing a lot shorter with the conditions. To get two hole-in-ones, it's brilliant. And that course especially on a Sunday it's a great way to finish. Q. After the year you've had, it must be nice, too. ELLIOT SALTMAN: Yes, it's been a bit disappointing. A lot of things have been said but the end of the day, what happens, happens. I don't live in the past. I live for the present and the future and, right now, I'm feeling absolutely brilliant and I'm off to Italy on Tuesday. So hopefully 17th hole is a par 3 and we can keep it going and if not, I'll just try and swing it and strike it as good as I have been. Q. How many hole-in-ones have you had before? ELLIOT SALTMAN: Five now. So I've only had one in competition when I was younger and then two practising, but this is my sixth European Tour event, sixth or seventh this year, and two in the one event, absolutely overwhelming. Q. Before Thursday, can you remember what the last one was? ELLIOT SALTMAN: I think it might have been, I'm going to say it was at Craigielaw on the 17th hole. And it was a par 3 and I was actually playing with my brother and we decided to go for the last five holes and it got dark. I hit a great shot, didn't see it land, walked up and ended up in the hole, maybe three years ago. Last one before that, I think I was playing Prestonfield. Wasn't the 17th. I think it was the 9th. Thought I hit a bad shot but it was in the hole. These ones this week have been straight in the middle. Thursday was a wee bit left of the pin, one bounce again. And today, it will be nice to see it on telly, what this one was like. I never got a chance, I don't think it was recorded on Thursday, so it will be interesting to see how it was from that angle. Q. So was it here we go again? ELLIOT SALTMAN: I birdied 15 and bogeyed 16, thought I would try to finish two, four, at best. I've been playing well, and I've just been kind of struggling to get good finishes and I think I've only got maybe just 20,000 on the board and sometimes you have to get away from thinking money-wise. So I thought finish two, four would be nice, pick up a wee check and go onto next week. There we go. One, four. Maybe I'll just stay on one, three again, but we'll take it, definitely. Q. Were you close at all on the car hole on any of the four days? ELLIOT SALTMAN: No idea. I've hit four threes but I was nowhere near it. And as I say, the other one was, again, Mallorca, which was so close, and sometimes you think, these things happen for a reason. Q. Would you say it was behind the hole? ELLIOT SALTMAN: Just literally, you could have blown it in, this was that close. But when you walk down up on to the green, you can't see the hole, so I'm over looking thinking, that's quite nice, and the guys have walked past me, shaking their head and just as I got up, it's heading right behind the pin. So that was that. These things happen. Just unbelievable. Q. Has every week gotten easier for you? ELLIOT SALTMAN: Yeah, it has. There have been a lot of players out here who have been brilliant and welcomed me back. But I'm out here to do a job and I'm out here to concentrate on one shot at a time, and today, I wanted to shoot 4-under. I was 1-under for the tournament. I played well yesterday in bad conditions. It was quite tricky. I thought if I can get to five, that's going to boost me right up there and I got off to a good start but just had two 3-putts, and as I say, to finish at that. But every week is going to get easier and easier. I'm delighted to be back. It's been a long slog, if you like, and it's more mental than anything else. Emotions running high and low. But sometimes you think these things happen for the best and especially to come here, in a big event as this, and finish one, three on Thursday, and one, four on Sunday, things happen for a reason I think. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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