An emotional and angry Robert Allenby has rounded on those who have been sceptical of his recent kidnapping tale, while asking onlookers to respect the insistence he was an innocent party during a curious night in Hawaii.
After leaving a wine bar, the Australian golfer claimed he had been assaulted, robbed, bundled into the back of a car and driven for miles before being discovered by a homeless woman. This version of events appeared to unravel, with contradictory media comment from the woman and others added to the claim Allenby had spent time on the evening in question in a strip club.
Allenby will return to playing this week in Phoenix. On Tuesday he called a press conference where he made plain his displeasure at those who have questioned his version. Allenby insisted he had “no memory” of being in a strip club or of a two-hour spell on the Friday night during which he was found bloodied and bruised.
“There is an investigation going on to what did happen on that night,” Allenby said. “The authorities are doing their absolute best. They’re hoping in the near future that something will be reported.
“There has definitely been a lot of confusion but I think the No1 thing that you all should remember is that my story has stayed exactly the same as the way I told it. I told you what I knew, what someone told me. I never lied to anyone.
“From that, the media have decided that they are the most amazing experts at investigations. There’s a reason why detectives in Honolulu are some of the best in the world. I’d really appreciate it if maybe we can let them do their job.
“What has been blown out of proportion is that I was the victim and all of a sudden you’re putting all the blame on me.”
Allenby added: “I take full responsibility if I did do something wrong. I have no problem in the world in owning up if I did do something wrong. But as I said, from about 11:06 to about 1:27am, I have no memory in my brain. I have nothing. I have been trying and overlooking and going backwards and forwards, and there is just nothing.
“I can’t tell you how frustrating that is, because we all want to know the truth. We all want to get to the bottom of it. My headaches have only just gone two days ago.”
On the allegation that Allenby could have been drunk and injured himself, he said: “There’s no way in the world what I drank could do what was done to me, not a chance in the world.”
Allenby was similarly blunt on the impact this affair has had on those around him. “My father and all my family are devastated,” he said. “I think people forget that I have a 13-year-old daughter and a 15-year-old son that love their father very much. You know, a lot has been said, and there is a lot of trash talk out there. I’m OK with that because I’ve got thick skin but my kids are still growing. They’re still learning.
“I’ve tried to guard them, because this is something that should be guarded from them because the truth hasn’t really come out. A lot of speculation, there is no proof to anything. So as I said, the detectives are doing the best job possible, and they will get to the bottom of it. Hopefully we will hear something by the end of this week.”
