Golfer Robert Allenby quits PGA Tour event after Hawaii robbery

[January 21, 2015]  By Malia Mattoch McManus
 
 HONOLULU (Reuters) - Australian golfer Robert Allenby, who reported being abducted, robbed and dumped from a car in a Hawaii park after failing to qualify for the Sony Open in Honolulu, says he has pulled out from a PGA Tour event in California to recover from his ordeal.

Police in Honolulu, meanwhile, issued a statement on Tuesday saying detectives were "reviewing witness statements and gathering security video footage" as part of a robbery and credit-card fraud investigation.

But police made no mention in their statement of Allenby's account of having been kidnapped from the Amuse Wine Bar in Honolulu and then beaten, and said no arrests had been made in the case.

Allenby, 43, has said he went out for drinks in Waikiki on Friday night with his caddy and a friend, then became separated from his companions after the group had paid their tab.

He told Reuters over the weekend 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.

He said a homeless woman he encountered in the park told him she had seen a few men drive up in a car and throw him out of the vehicle, and that a man he described as a "retired military guy" paid for a taxi ride back to his hotel.

Facial injuries were evident in published pictures and television news footage of Allenby after the incident, and he opted out of this week's Humana Challenge tournament in California.

"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."

Allenby has won four times on the U.S. Tour, most recently at the 2001 Pennsylvania Classic. He turned professional in 1992 and has won 18 other tournaments around the world including 13 on the PGA Tour of Australasia.

Allenby missed the cut at the Sony Open after shooting successive rounds of one-over-par 71 at the Waialae Country Club in Honolulu.

The Humana Challenge, the third event of the year on the PGA Tour, will be played at La Quinta from Jan. 22-25.

(Additional reporting by Frank Pingue in Toronto; Editing by Steve Gorman)

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