The Golf Blog: Is Robert Allenby’s kidnap account believable?
The Golf Blog says: We’ve read some tweets of people who are a little skeptical about the reports of Robert Allenby’s kidnapping, beating, and robbing last night in Hawaii. Allenby said he may have been drugged by someone while having drinks at Amuse Wine Bar with his caddie Mick Middlemo and another friend Anthony Puntoriero because his memory of what happened is foggy. As far as he can piece together, he says he was kidnapped by three men who drove him 6 miles away, robbed and beat Allenby, and left him in a park where a homeless woman told Allenby about the three men. A retired military man helped Allenby to get a cab back to his hotel.
The account may sound like a random, if not bizarre, crime. But it’s entirely believable. If you take out the fact that Allenby is a professional golfer, it’s easy to imagine that such a robbery could occur to anyone, especially tourists to Hawaii that robbers would know have some money. Moreover, Allenby’s conduct after the events seem entirely consistent with having been the victim of a crime. Allenby reported the incident to the local police–which he’d have no reason to do if something embarrassing were the reason for the scratches on his face. Plus, he’d be exposing himself to prosecution for filing a false police report if the account was made up. Also, Wei Under Par reports that the caddie and Allenby watched video from the Amuse Wine Bar that shows Allenby leaving with 3 guys while he was stumbling (perhaps after being drugged).
Allenby issued a statement: “I’d like to thank the local authorities, Sony Open and PGA TOUR officials and others that have assisted me throughout this unfortunate ordeal. I’d also like to thank the many people that have reached out with their well-wishes and support. Medically, I thankfully didn’t suffer anything major beyond some bumps and bruises that will take a bit of time to heal. My plan currently is to fly back to the mainland and at that point, evaluate my ability to play next week at the Humana Challenge.”
Thank goodness Allenby is OK and nothing worse happened. Local law enforcement will be investigating the kidnapping.
UPDATE on Jan. 19, 2015: The homeless woman was been interviewed. Her story seems to conflict with Allenby’s in several respects. Click here for the analysis.
PGA Star Robert Allenby Allegedly Abducted, Robbed and Dumped http://t.co/Kan7Xld6Bm
— ABC News (@ABC) January 18, 2015
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