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‘I struggled as a human’ – Robert Allenby on life after THAT alleged assault incident

Published

2 years ago

on

Before Golf Twitter became a ‘thing’, Robert Allenby created his own headlines when, one morning in January 2015, we woke up to a photo of a beaten, bloodied Australian star, taken by reporters from his Facebook feed.

The then 43-year-old posted a story that after missing the cut at the Sony Open, someone had spiked his drink when out in Hawaii, and he had awoken in a park, having been assaulted and robbed.

Allenby claimed a homeless woman had discovered him, but she later denied the claim, as did his then-caddie Mick Middlemo, who felt his charge had fallen over and hit his head.

The rumor mill started and talk was of the golfer spending a few hours at a strip club, reports that were unsubstantiated and then removed from the Golf Channel website.

However, they left their mark.

Allenby says, “That definitely ruined the character of Robert Allenby. Mentally, that really hurt me a lot.”

The then lead investigator of the Honolulu Police Department John McCarthy confirmed with the club’s manager that Allenby had not been at the club. “I think those reports were really unfair. He got a bad deal.”

Years later, the four-time PGA Tour winner opened up to Golf Digest about his life since that fateful day, suggesting that, “I didn’t want to be in public and have to deal with people saying negative things about me. I lost confidence in my golf. I lost confidence in myself. I struggled as a human.”

Whilst a man was arrested and convicted of credit card fraud, the golfer has never pressed charges for assault.

“We know he fell or tripped and hit his head. We matched things up with what people told us and his injuries, plus the rock,” McCarthy told Golf Digest. “He said he was assaulted, but we just don’t know for sure. He could have been assaulted. He could have been hit from behind while walking down Kapiolani Boulevard or pushed or shoved, and then they took his wallet. You can tell when someone is lying, and (he) wasn’t lying. Let’s put it this way – it’s greater than 50-50 that he was assaulted, but we can’t prove that.”

The mystery of the homeless woman has never been solved, and Allenby says the reports mis-represented his words. He told the magazine, “I’m not embarrassed about it, I didn’t say I was thrown out of the trunk of a car. I said I was told I was thrown out of the trunk of the car. A reporter said, ‘It sounds like the movie ‘Taken,’ and I said, ‘Yes, it does.’ Agreeing with him and what the homeless lady said to me compounded the story.”

The last few years have taken their toll, with Allenby going on to anti-depressants and seeking psychiatric help.

From a place within the top-30 of the world’s best players, the two-time WGC runner-up quickly slid outside the top-100, then 500, and finally off the face of the planet as far as golf rankings are concerned.

However, seven years later and according to the report, Allenby is now back and content with his lot. Spending time at Admirals Cove, Jupiter, he is now past the qualifying age for the Champions Tour, and told the magazine that, “The chance to go out there and compete again is pretty cool. There aren’t many jobs that offer you a second chance.”

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19th Hole

Brandel Chamblee has a surprising new take on the PGA Tour-LIV stand-off

Published

10 hours ago

on

May 10, 2024

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One of the more outspoken analysts throughout the LIV Golf vs. PGA Tour saga has been Golf Channel’s Brandel Chamblee.

This week, Chamblee reversed course, saying he believes the PGA Tour should strike a deal with Saudi Arabia’s Private Investment Fund (PIF).

“The PGA Tour is in this pickle like it or not, but, do you want to compete with someone who’s not going to go away, who can outspend you”.

“Every move they make that makes their tour better deletes your tour and causes more division within the tour. So the time is now, to Rory’s point about making a deal, I wouldn’t have said that a year ago… but it is the better end of the bargain.”

Chamblee’s new stance seems to be in line with that of Rory McIlroy, who reportedly wanted to rejoin the PGA Tour board with hopes of pushing a deal with the PIF closer to the finish line.

Chamblee will be in the booth for next week’s PGA Championship which has 16 LIV players in the field.

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19th Hole

Xander Schauffele explains free drop ruling during round one of Wells Fargo Championship

Published

11 hours ago

on

May 10, 2024

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During Thursday’s opening round of the Wells Fargo Championship, Xander Schauffele blasted his tee shot in the woods to the right of the fairway on the par-4 8th hole.

The ball was almost not found, but Xander’s group managed to track it down just before the three-minute time limit was reached.

When the ball was found, it was just beyond the penalty area close to a fence. In the moment, it seemed incredibly unlikely that Schauffele would be able to hit the ball through the trees towards the green.

However, through the woods and above the fairway, there was a hanging wire from a ShotLink tower that Xander claimed was in his way. He was then granted relief, and two club lengths from the spot positioned him all the way out of trouble. He played his ball onto the front of the green and two-putted for par.

Here is the full video of the interaction between Schauffele and the rules official.

After the round, Xander said he “got really lucky.”

“Got really lucky multiple times, on 1 with Wyndham finding it, 2, being able to move the rocks, and 3, the ShotLink tower being in like my only shot line possible. To walk out there with sort of a no breeze 4 with what I thought was almost out was a really good break.”

“Yeah, I hit it in the trees. My ball was probably like a foot, two feet from the fence. If I — ball was here, fence was kind of here, hitting back this direction.

“If I went towards the green, the fence kind of worked this way so I had what I could hit, a 4-iron or something low and just kind of run it through. If it gets stuck, I’ll just kind of hit my next one out. But I brought the rules official in there with me because I was like, you’ve got to be OK with this because this is literally the only shot I can hit.”

“So Austin [Kaiser] and I moved two massive rocks that weren’t embedded and then I got relief out of the junk and then hit a pretty good shot on the green from there. What was a very stressful moment turned into a pretty stressless par.”

Schauffele finished the round at seven under, which gives him a three-shot lead going into Friday’s second round.

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19th Hole

Report: Tiger Woods voted against Rory McIlroy returning to policy board; Will be the only player negotiating directly with Saudis

Published

1 day ago

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May 9, 2024

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According to a report from The Telegraph, the relationship between Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy has soured.

Last week, reports surfaced that McIlroy, who was a member of the PGA Tour policy board during most of the past few years, was looking to rejoin the board, presumably taking Webb Simpson’s seat.

However, on Wednesday, McIlroy revealed that he will not be rejoining the policy board, due to people on the board being “uncomfortable” with that “for some reason.”

The Telegraph has reported that Tiger Woods was among the players who voted against McIlroy returning to the policy board.

The divide is apparently due to McIlroy pushing for the game of golf to unify, whereas Woods, reportedly, believes the PGA Tour is in a fine position where it currently stands.

The Associated Press added another wrinkle to the situation, reporting that Woods is the only player who will be negotiating directly with the Saudis.

The other members of the committee are PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan, board chairman Joe Gorder, John W. Henry of Fenway Sports Group, and Joe Ogilvie, who was a former PGA Tour player.

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