Robert Allenby’s night of mystery from Jan. 16 is starting to unfold more like a tale from “The Hangover” than anything else. The latest information tells us that the golfer was not kidnapped nor assaulted as was initially reported, and that he racked up a $3,400 bill at a strip club on the night in question.
But this does not necessarily mean Allenby was lying about what happened; it could just be that he was drugged or passed out and that his only recollection is based on what was told to him.
According to a story published by Golf Channel, the facts are certain that Allenby was robbed of $800 in cash, his phone and some credit cards. One of his cards was used to buy two bottles of alcohol shortly after the golfer left the wine bar where he was having dinner after missing the cut at the Sony Open earlier that day. Fraudulent charges on the card have escalated to $20,000 since then.
Golf Channel states what happened:
After having dinner with his caddie, Mick Middlemo, and a friend from Australia, Anthony Puntoriero, Allenby was sitting alone at his table when he was approached by two men and a woman. Middlemo had already left Amuse and Puntoriero was having a conversation with another group at the bar.
Allenby knows this because he and Middlemo went back to the bar the next day to review video from surveillance cameras. He knows he paid his check with an American Express card that he slipped into his pocket and not his money clip, exited the bar with the three unknown individuals and, according to the video footage, walked out of the building at 11:06 p.m.
About 20 minutes later, some homeless men say they found Allenby passed out. Allenby said he only had a few drinks during the dinner and was not drunk, so it’s possible the two men and woman did something to him. Allenby was next seen at a strip club, where he ran up a $3,400 tab with a group of friends. About two hours later, the same homeless men saw Allenby passed out in the same spot.
Police say the injuries the golfer sustained were inconsistent with an assault; as we said, it sounds like he passed out on a rock.
It’s really starting to seem like Allenby told the initial kidnapping/assault story based on what was told to him, not based on what he remembered happening. Perhaps he was drugged by the three people, robbed and then went on to party at the strip club much like the guys in “The Hangover.” If that is the case, it would explain why the information keeps changing.
