Robert Allenby's Returning To The Site Of His Alien Abduction

Soak up the fun at Kapalua. Because following an opening week of stars, humpback whales and what looks like another impressive Jordan Spieth performance, the Sony Open will deliver us back to reality with an OK field and...Robert Allenby.

You may recall last year's lavish tale inspired by having watched one too many Taken movies. You know, the one that unraveled and included Allenby criticizing the woman who found him bloodied before giving her a gift before ultimately being loosely traced to a strip club.

Doug Ferguson reports that Allenby returns to the scene of it all next week on a one-year all-time money exemption. The vital recap for those who tried to block out the bad memories.

A Hawaii man was arrested a month later for using Allenby's credit cards to buy gift cards, jewelry and clothing. Owen Harbison was sentenced in August to five years.

Allenby stood by his story, saying the media blamed him when he was the victim. He says he suspects someone slipped a drug in his drink because he had total memory loss during a 2½-hour window from leaving the Amuse Wine Bar and being woken in the park.

Golf Channel cited unidentified sources in a strip club that Allenby was at Club Femme Nu and ran up a tab of $3,400. Honolulu Police Det. John McCarthy said the report was not true, and the police investigation showed Allenby was never in the strip club.

Allenby made only six cuts on the PGA Tour the rest of the year.

The Age included this report with Allenby's life changing advice for us all, minus the caveat that this only applies to people with big mouths, weird attitudes and a propensity for bar bickering.

"I'm very cautious, there's no question about it. Most important thing is you never leave a glass of wine or any drink unattached anywhere. And that's probably the best advice I could give anyone in the world because it's not a pleasant experience – especially the outcome of what could happen."

Comments

[Clacker]

Geoff - this post seems to indicate that Golf Channel reported incorrect facts about Allenby's night-time activities on the evening of the 'robbery'. Did they apologise or correct the slander?

Allenby may be a loud-mouth with a desperately poor attitude and may well have deserved a good slap - however if Golf Channel reported in a sort of mock-prurient, curtain-twitching and false manner, one would hope they would at least have the intestinal fortitude to own up and apologise to their bullcrap.

Or has golf 'journalism' sunk so low?

[JebMo]

I hope he wasn't out with Cosby that night!

[Mark Pugner]

Robert was also seen out drinking with friends a day after the fiasco. Not only that but the friends tweeted pictures showing Robert drinking wine and beer.

As a former raging alcoholic, I can say that their comes a point where you become so blitzed that you blackout. You actually cannot go to sleep until your brain says you've had enough drinks. The guy is clearly a functioning alcoholic and it is affecting his job. The next step will be to loose his tour card and or cause an accident while driving.

[Convert]

I was one of those laughing at Allenby, until I read this story in MY Magazine that gives credence to his claim that "someone must of slipped something in my drink" This scenario happens, however most victims do not report the incident precisely because of how Allenby was treated by us and the media. http://nymag.com/thecut/2015/12/robin-hood-strippers-scores-c-v-r.html#

[Jess Daddio]

"someone must of slipped something in my drink"

You guys can't really be seriously thinking that was the cause of him ending up in the street, can you? Isn't it obvious that Robert has a serious issue with alcohol? Come on man! The only thing slipped into his drink(s) was alcohol, and lots of it.

[Clacker]

''If Geoff's position was always safely down the middle''

I don't want down the middle - I'll be happy with true or false, right or wrong,

[Carl Peterson]

Recently there have been numerous comments along the line of "That's the dumbest comment (ever posted | posted this year)" etc.

I'm not sure what the eligibility requirements are for such contests but I think consideration should be given to this comment
from Facebook (in reply to Geoff's posting there):

http://cpetescratchpad.blogspot.com/2016/01/allenby-comment-from-facebook.html

[Convert]

Jess- read the article I linked above. NY "former" strippers have been caught spiking guys drink with MDMA and ketamine (which affects memory) and running up huge credit card bills at strip clubs for which the clubs pay huge commissions. Not the exact scenario RA faced, but similar enough that his story is plausible.

[Geoff]

Clacker,
The story did make that insinuation but the Golf Channel has stood by their reporting which included sending a writer there, who interviewed all of the witnesses he could find.

Allenby's various stories, as well as some of the efforts by the police that seemed to make this go away (understandably given the negative PR in a tourism based economy), do make the entire thing confusing at best. Nefarious at worst.

[Marky Mark]

Hey Jocko,

If you were looking for a news portal and arrived here, there is something wrong with your browser. This is an all-things-golf blog.

Now, get lost.

[P-Dog]

Clacker,
Please expand on your "if Geoff's position was always safely down the middle", I didn't see that mentioned in the story?

[Press Agent]

"Honolulu Police Det. John McCarthy said the report was not true, and the police investigation showed Allenby was never in the strip club."

Isn't that interesting.

[John Morris]

A different question. How does Allen by get a 'one year all time money exemption? He never seemed to be a big success on the tour, his wins were intermittent and he never came to mind as a big money golfer. I've been wrong before, never quite figured out the exemptions the tour dishes out
John

[Carl Peterson]

@JohnMorris,

Allenby is 31st all time in earnings (longevity is a wonderful thing).

Here's an ordered list of exemption types and players who fit in them:
http://www.pgatour.com/news/2015/pga-tour-priority-ranking.html

[John Morris]

@Carl, Many thanks, pretty convoluted. I guess life isn't over if you don't make the top 125. Looks like charity plan for aging tour pro's
Thanks again
John