Officer putting money on bowler, say (5,3)
I believe the answer is:
brass hat
'officer' is the definition.
(brass hat is a kind of officer)
'money on bowler say' is the wordplay.
'money' becomes 'brass' (I've seen this before).
'on' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'bowler say' becomes 'hat' (bowler is a type of hat).
'brass'+'hat'='BRASS HAT'
'putting' is the link.
(Other definitions for brass hat that I've seen before include "Certainly no private" , "High-ranking official or officer with metal headgear?" , "official of the first rank" , "Senior army officer" , "Top 22 person" .)