President Clinton left a golf club behind on his recent visit to Montana, and Sen. Conrad Burns, who has the club, said Monday he hopes to trade it for a round of golf with the president.

Is the Republican senator holding the president’s custom-made Henry Griffin pitching wedge for ransom?

“In a kind of tongue-in-cheek way, yes,” said Dick Wadhams, a press aide to Burns in Washington, D.C.

“Conrad would love to play a round of golf with President Clinton. He’s always admired the president’s sense of humor, and although they have political differences, Conrad has always liked him personally,” Wadhams said.

But the club will be returned regardless of whether or not the president has time to schedule a round with Burns, Wadhams said.