Robert Allenby maintains he was kidnapped

• Aussie insistent he ‘never lied to anyone’ over kidnapping
• ‘The police will come out with the right story,’ he says
• Incident happened following missed cut at Sony Open

Robert Allenby has insisted that his version of events surrounding his alleged kidnapping in Hawaii just under a fortnight ago is truthful – and angrily scolded members of the media who had suggested otherwise.

The four-time PGA Tour winner, 43, spoke ahead of the Waste Management Open in Phoenix, Arizona, to further explain his claims that he was abducted from a wine bar, robbed, beaten and dumped in a park in Hawaii on January 17 after missing the cut at the Sony Open the previous day.

The Aussie’s claims – which he admits include a near two-and-a-half hour spell where he has ‘no memory in my brain’ – have since been refuted by multiple different sources.

However, addressing the media after a practice round at TPC Scottsdale, Allenby was adamant that he had been truthful.

“There has definitely been a lot of confusion but I think the number one thing that you should all remember is that my story stays exactly the same as the way I told it,” he said. “I told you what I knew, and I told you what someone told me. That’s the bottom line. I never lied to anyone. I only told you what I knew and what someone had told me. That is the bottom line.

“From that, obviously the media have decided that they are the most amazing experts at investigations. There is a reason why detectives in Honolulu are some of the best in the world. I think I’d really appreciate if we just let them do their job and maybe we could get to the bottom of it.”

Allenby, who added that his headaches from the incident have ‘only just gone two days ago’, added: “I understand the way the media works. I have been around for 25 years as a professional golfer, and I have endured a lot of different comments from the media, but I’m happy to take everything on the chin. I’m a strong-willed character. I’ve got a great support team.

“There’s no way in the world what I drank could do what was done to me, not a chance in the world.” – Robert Allenby

“You know, at the end of the day, what’s happened has happened. The police will come out with the right story, so please, let them do their job, don’t get in the way of them, and everything will be great.”

Allenby also said he had ‘no memory’ of reports that he had racked up a bill totalling thousands of dollars at a strip club on the night of the incident and rebuffed suggestions that his the facial injuries he sustained had been the result of blacking out through alcohol consumption.

“There’s no way in the world what I drank could do what was done to me, not a chance in the world,” he said.

Allenby gets his Waste Management Phoenix Open bid underway alongside Brendon de Jonge and Nicholas Thompson at 6.40pm (UK time) tomorrow evening.

Robert Allenby ‘kidnapping’ :: your thoughts

What do you make of Robert Allenby‘s alleged kidnapping? Leave your thoughts in our ‘Comments’ section below.

Michael McEwan is the Deputy Editor of bunkered and has been part of the team since 2004. In that time, he has interviewed almost every major figure within the sport, from Jack Nicklaus, to Rory McIlroy, to Donald Trump. The host of the multi award-winning bunkered Podcast and a member of Balfron Golfing Society, Michael is the author of three books and is the 2023 PPA Scotland 'Writer of the Year' and 'Columnist of the Year'. Dislikes white belts, yellow balls and iron headcovers. Likes being drawn out of the media ballot to play Augusta National.

Deputy Editor