Robert Allenby withdraws from Humana

Report by Anand Datla

January 21, 2015: Robert Allenby has officially withdrawn from the Humana Challenge in California, citing the need to recover from the ordeal he went through in Hawaii last week. The Australian golfer was reportedly waylaid and robbed after he missed the cut at the Sony Open in Honolulu.

The police in Honolulu are investigating the incident. In a statement issued on Tuesday detectives were said to be “reviewing witness statements and gathering security video footage” dealing with the robbery and credit-card fraud investigation. No arrests have yet been made in the case. Allenby was allegedly kidnapped outside the Amuse Wine Bar in Honolulu before being robbed, beaten and abandoned.

The 43 year old golfer informed the Reuters that “the next thing he recalled was waking up groggy in a park miles away from the bar to find he had been beaten and robbed of his wallet, cell phone, cash and credit cards.” It is understood that a homeless lady was witness to Allenby being dumped off a car by a group of men, following which another good samaritan paid for a taxi ride to help him back to his hotel.

But the story has turned more complicated and murkier since the incident, with Allenby going so far as to suggest that the homeless woman was getting paid to alter facts. As seen in this photo drawn from Facebook, Allenby seemed to have been roughed up before being dumped. “I don’t know what they hit me with between the eyeballs, whether a fist or a baseball bat,” he said. “Whatever it was, it hurts.”

Allenby speaking to an Australian television show – Sunrise Monday

“On the advice of my personal doctor I have decided to withdraw from this week’s Humana Challenge,” he said in a statement. “This will enable me to ensure I am fully recovered prior to rejoining the PGA Tour. I anticipate a full recovery and look forward to returning in the near future.”

The homeless woman, Charade Keane though offered a different version than that of Allenby to Nine News Australia. A mashable.com story, reported her version as follows –

“Keane said she found Allenby a block away from the bar, not six miles, where he was trying to pay two men $500 to get his belongings back. She told Nine News he requested she use his remaining credit card to withdraw the money to pay the men off. When the men became aggressive, she helped Allenby leave the situation in a cab with a retired military man. The man reportedly paid for the taxi back to his hotel at Waialae Country Club.”

We will perhaps have to leave the police to find the truth and focus our energies on the golf at La Quinta this week.