Aussie Golf Pro Rob Allenby Allegedly Kidnapped
Robert Allenby Kidnapping, image: youtube.com
While the only contact in professional golf remains the moment the clubface meets the golf ball, the same can’t be said for Rob Allenby’s evening off the course. That’s because – according to his wavering accounts – Mr. Allenby was attacked, robbed, and then dumped out of a vehicle in the early morning hours of January 17th. The unfortunate series of events took place after the 43-year-old golfer failed to make the cut for the Sony Open in Honolulu.
Regardless of what really transpired after an evening out with friends, the Srixon spokesperson was certainly showing signs of a night in the rough after posting a picture of his bruised and bloodied face to his social media accounts (that have since been removed).
Between his own version of events and the testimony of others – including a homeless woman that was present during the morning in question – the story of Rob Allenby’s alleged kidnapping seems to get stranger by the hour. So what do we know thus far?
Allenby’s Night Out With Friends
The sleek and sophisticated Amuse Wine Bar in Honolulu, Hawaii –known to draw in upscale crowds and wine aficionados from across the world – was the destination that Rob Allenby left his room for on Friday evening with his buddy Anthony Puntoriero and golf caddy Mick Middlemo in tow. The popular wine bar was about a twenty-minute cab ride from Allenby’s room at the Kahala Hotel. Upon arrival, the three comrades enjoyed a few drinks with dinner at the posh location before paying their bar tabs. What happened next is the part that gets a little hazy.
According to Allenby’s initial account of the night’s events, the attack happened after the golf pro had lost track of his friend that evening.
“I was separated from my friend in the bar after we paid the tab at 10:48 p.m. and he went to the bathroom, and next thing you know I’m being dumped in a park miles away,” Allenby told the Australian Associated Press. “I only know this part because a homeless woman found me and told me she saw a few guys pull up and throw me out of the car. That is where I got the scrapes above my eye from the sidewalk.”
According to Allenby, he was robbed of his wallet, cellphone, and PGA Tour badge. The park Allenby originally stated he was dumped in was about six miles away from the wine bar.
A Shadow of Doubt
Although Rob Allenby acknowledged a conversation he had with Charade Keane, the homeless woman that allegedly told him about a few guys throwing him out of a car that night, her version of events has differed drastically from the pro golfer’s story.
According to Keane’s story, she was a mere block away from the wine bar when she witnessed Allenby offering two unidentified males money to get back his belongings they had apparently taken from him. Soon the scene became violent and Keane – along with the help of another bystander – helped get the pro golfer into a taxi and away from the assailants.
Another take? According to two alleged witnesses, the pro golfer had visited a strip club and had drunkenly fell over and hurt himself on a rock. Because Allenby’s recollection of events differs from others, there is relatively little that we do know about what happened in Honolulu. One thing we can be sure of is that Honolulu Police are diligently working the case, and have already secured footage of what appears to be one of the assailants using Allenby’s credit card at a convenience store. Hopefully finding that person will shed more light on this mysterious chain of events.
Prior to the Waste Management Phoenix Open on January 27th, Allenby addressed media by explaining that investigators are still looking into the events that transpired and asked the media to stand back and let the detectives do their job. His words for the media did not have a kind connotation, which was made obvious when he said, “I realize that I don’t have any friends in the media, maybe one. That’s it. That’s all I can say.”
While he said that he never lied to the media about the events that dreadful evening, he did close with the following statement, “I’ve always been a person that holds my regrets, but I take everything on the chin, if I make a mistake, I apologize and I walk on.”
Time will only tell if that apology is coming or not.
