Golfers win chance to stand out from crowd

A TALENT FOR sport can bring huge prizes and the perfect physique, but there has never been a contest offering quite such a trophy as that of a golf tournament in Sanctuary Cove, Australia.

Organisers have thrown caution, and good taste, to the wind to offer penis enlargement and breast enhancement operations as prizes. The tournament is being sponsored by a cosmetic surgery firm.

State authorities have condemned the prizes and called for legislation to ban such incentives. The Queensland health minister, Wendy Edmond, said people undergoing cosmetic surgery should only do so after appropriate counselling: "All surgery has potential risks and should not be something taken in a light-hearted way."

Nevertheless, the idea has proved popular, with the 120 golfers entering.

Pamela Noon, of the sponsor Clinical Beauty, defended the idea last night, because it was raising money for charity.

But international rules state that golfers cannot win more than $350 (pounds 220) for a one-round game or $500 (pounds 300) for two rounds, or they lose their right to play as amateurs.

Simon Wordsworth, head teaching professional at the Belfry Golf Resort in Sutton Coldfield, the Ryder Cup 2001 host, said: "Whether [golfers] go for this depends on how much they value a breast enhancement or a penis enlargement. It wouldn't be much of an enlargement for $350."