Saltman on Saltman
AT Turnberry this week, Lloyd and Elliot Saltman will become the first brothers to play in an Open Championship since Jumbo and Joe Ozaki in 1992.
Lloyd, 23, who plays on the Challenge Tour, shot to fame in 2005, when he won the Silver Medal for leading amateur at St Andrews. Elliot, 27, who plays on the EuroPro Tour, has never competed in a European Tour event. They share a house in Prestonpans, a father, Jack, who doubles as their manager, and a younger brother, Zack, who is also a professional golfer.
ELLIOT ON LLOYD
HOW IMPORTANT WILL IT BE TO HAVE LITTLE BROTHER THERE?
I was actually hoping that the two of us would make it. With Zack carrying my bag, the whole family will be there, which might take the sting from everything else that is going on. The press coverage Lloyd got in 2005, when he finished 15th, was massive. I’ve not experienced anything like that. With all the hype, it will be nice to go back to the house at night, relax and be the family that we are every other week of the year.
HOW DOES LLOYD’S GAME COMPARE WITH YOURS?
I’m slightly longer than him off the tee. He is a better putter, a classy putter. He has been working on his short game with Mark Roe, but I would say mine is stronger than his.
WHAT ABOUT MENTALLY?
The great thing about Lloyd is that, when he gets beat, he always tells you that he is still a better player than the guy who won. He seems to shrug everything off. He hasn’t been having the best of seasons, and it must be bothering him, but it doesn’t look like it. He just takes it on the chin. Why bother about the past when you should be moving forward? It’s one of his strong points because there is nothing worse than thinking too much about things.
If I get beat, I question myself. In our amateur careers, that was the biggest difference between us. Lloyd had more self-belief, more confidence. Maybe it was because he had an older brother. My mum and dad didn’t play golf so I was kind of doing it on my own, but he had me to follow. And when you start beating your big brother, it gives you a bit of confidence. It probably knocked mine. He was doing well, getting all the hype, and I was thinking “am I any good at this game?”
DO YOUNGER BROTHERS HAVE AN ADVANTAGE?
When you are used to playing against an older, better player, you have to try harder to win. Lloyd was like that when we were younger. Being the older brother, you want to lead the way, but it doesn’t always work like that. Lloyd led in such a big way that I felt I needed to match him, and looking back, it was the wrong thing to do. It got a bit rushed in my head. Different people do things at different times. I should have gone at my own pace. Once I got a bit older, I was easier on myself, and did what was right for me. We went our separate ways, and now we’re meeting up at the biggest championship in the world.
HOW CLOSE ARE YOU?
Mum and dad always brought us up to help each other rather than fight each other. A lot of journalists ask if we are rivals, but if I make the cut at Turnberry, Lloyd will be cheering, and if he makes the cut, I will be doing the same. There is nothing between us. We have all joked, my mum and dad as well, about the three of us playing in the 2014 Ryder Cup. Sometimes you say these things and don’t actually believe them, but with Lloyd and me qualifying for the Open, it feels like anything is possible. It has kind of opened our minds.
WHAT ARE HIS WORST HABITS?
I share a house with Lloyd, and he’s so untidy it’s a disgrace. I do the cleaning, the washing, the ironing … it’s like he thinks I’m his mother. He throws everything down, and expects me to look after him. And I hate mess so I end up doing it. Sometimes I’ll come home, when he’s had a Chinese the night before, and the place is a tip. I bought a BMW when I was 23, and it was my pride and joy, but I gave it to Lloyd. I feel like taking it back. It’s in such a mess. He has never cleaned it since I gave him it, which was over a year ago. If he gets a new set of irons, within a fortnight they are minging. Rather than clean his shoes he’ll just get another pair.
WHAT IS YOUR EARLIEST MEMORY OF HIM?
As kids, we used to go to Gleneagles a lot. When I was 6 or 7, he was 3, and quite a fatty believe it or not. I can remember him sitting in the Gleneagles Hotel sucking the fat off a rasher of bacon. I was thinking “that’s disgusting”. Of the three of us, he was the heaviest child, but not anymore.
WHAT WOULD HE BE IF HE HADN’T BEEN A GOLFER?
From a young age, he was always very artistic, quite good at drawing cartoons. I remember mum buying him a plain hockey T-shirt, and he drew this massive falcon on it. It was amazing.
WHAT IS HIS MOST TREASURED POSSESSION?
He absolutely loves his clothes. He’s massively into jeans and T-shirts, but I wouldn’t even clean my car with some of them. He’ll show you a Tshirt that cost him £60 and you’re thinking “are you having a laugh?” He’ll spend £200 on jeans that I wouldn’t walk the dog in.
WHO WOULD PLAY HIM IN A MOVIE?
Jim Carrey in Dumb and Dumber. He’s not the brightest spark.
WHEN WERE YOU MOST PROUD OF HIM?
At The Open in 2005. When he holed out on the 18th green at St Andrews, we were watching from the first tee. Mum was crying, and I had a lump in my throat. I was thinking “that’s my brother”. I was wearing a badge that said “Lloyd Saltman family” and it felt great.
WHAT THREE ADJECTIVES BEST DESCRIBE HIM?
Classy, aggressive (on the golf course) and confident.
WILL HE FULFIL HIS POTENTIAL?
It’s just a matter of time. He has proven in the past that he is a very strong person. He has played some of the best courses in the world against some of the top players so he knows what it feels like. He is only 23, and in this sport, that is absolutely nothing. It might not happen this year or next, but he will be up there competing with the best one day. He is too good not to.
LLOYD ON ELLIOT
HOW IMPORTANT WILL IT BE TO HAVE BIG BROTHER THERE THIS WEEK?
We have grown up together, really supported each other through the years, so it’s pretty special. My experience at the 2005 Open was huge, with the family out there watching me every day, but this will be something else again. We’re making history in a way. It’s great for us, for our parents, and for our sponsors, Aegon.
WHAT ARE ELLIOT’S PLAYING STRENGTHS?
He is very powerful. He has that extra 30-40 yards in the tank which a lot of players don’t, and it comes in very useful. When you play with him, you are hitting it the same distance most of the time, but every now and then, maybe on a par 5, he will crank it up. He’s also good with a wedge.
DESCRIBE HIS PERSONALITY
When we are all away playing together, Zack, right, and I call him “dad” because he has the same personality. He is a big guy with a great presence about him, and he’s always looking after us. I’ll come home from a tournament and find a wee pile of ironing folded up on my bed. You wouldn’t think it by looking at him, but he likes to keep the place tidy, which only makes me more lazy. If I was living on my own, I’d have to do things for myself, but I’m not, so I don’t.
WHAT IS YOUR EARLIEST MEMORY OF HIM?
He has always been a petrolhead. We grew up on a farm, and when I was just getting used to walking, he was already riding around the place on a motorbike.
DID HE EVER FIGHT WITH YOU?
Not really, no. He has always been huge, and I knew that if I was to have a scrap with him, it wouldn’t last long. For me, Elliot has always been big, a proper older brother. He looked after me at school and on the golf course. He has always been a brother you could turn to for anything really.
WHEN DID YOU FIRST BEAT HIM AT GOLF?
I was about 15 I think. We were playing at Kilspindie, just before the Scottish Boys Championship at Dunbar, and he said “if you can beat me today, you’ll have a good chance in the tournament”. I didn’t win the tournament, but I had a good week.
WAS BEING YOUNGER AN ADVANTAGE?
If Elliot hadn’t been around, I wouldn’t have achieved so much so soon. It sounds harsh, but he made all the mistakes first. I learned from him.
HOW DOES HE DIFFER FROM YOU?
He quite likes to do his own thing. Where Zack and I tend to share more with each other, Elliot is a bit of a loner. It’s not a bad thing, especially in golf, which is a solitary kind of sport, but if Zack and I have a bit of a problem, we talk about it. Elliot is more likely to keep it to himself, go quiet for a couple of days. We’ll ask him what’s up and he’ll say, “oh nothing, nothing”. He’s much quieter than me. When he loses, it takes him a bit of time to get over it.
WHAT IS HIS WORST HABIT?
He is an absolute car junkie. I might have a few clothes lying about the house, but you should see the bumpers, oil cans and cleaning stuff he has in the back garden. It looks like an Easyjet has just crashed. He has a Nissan Skyline, which is an import from Japan or something, and a Subaru GT4. Or is it GT5? I’ve got one of his older cars, and he cleans that as well. Unbelievable.
WHAT WOULD HE BE IF HE HADN’T BEEN A GOLFER?
When he was young, he wanted to be a long-distance lorry driver.
WHAT ELSE DOES HE LIKE?
Shoes and shirts. When we went to Florida for practice in the winter, he must have bought a dozen shirts. And he has more shoes than a woman. I like shopping, but I’m a bit more stylish. I like my retro T-shirts. He likes his dress shirts, and a nice pair of shoes.
WHAT DOES HE HAVE THAT YOU ARE ENVIOUS OF?
Away from the course, he can sit back and take it easy. I can’t sit still. I need to be doing stuff. Life’s a bit slower for him. It’s funny: he buys fast cars, and then drives them slowly. I’m like, “what’s the point?”
WHAT IS THE DAFTEST THING HE HAS DONE?
One day, when we were out practising on the farm, it seemed like we were a mile away away from the house, but he hit this massive slice and it went straight through my mum’s kitchen window. Pretty stupid.
WHO WOULD PLAY HIM IN A MOVIE?
Dolph Lundgren in Rocky IV. He looks like him.
HOW WILL HE FARE NEXT WEEK?
It’s his first major championship, his first big tournament. He hasn’t even played in a European Tour event yet. But he’s playing well, and the rough is up. He will able to advance the ball further than a lot of players. He is also putting well just now. He’s capable of being one of the last names in the draw on Sunday afternoon.
DOES HE STILL HAVE TIME TO MAKE IT BIG IN GOLF?
Absolutely. If you look at the top guys, some are in their late 30s, even 40s. Elliot is only 27. He took up golf really late. He didn’t join a club till he was 15, and his first handicap was 10. Growing up, I always thought that he would be a pro golfer. He had all the attributes. In years to come, it wouldn’t surprise me if he won a major championship.
Published Date: 12 July 2009
By PAUL FORSYTH, The Scotsman
