Robert Allenby wasn’t going to let one bizarre night stop him from coming back to the Sony Open in Hawaii, a tournament he’s enjoyed for nearly two decades.
A year ago, the now 44-year-old Aussie missed the cut at the Sony Open in Hawaii, then went out for a night of dining and drinking with his caddie and a friend at Amuse Wine Bar. That Friday night, which spilled into Saturday, ended with Allenby’s face scratched and bruised and with a lengthy, multi-hour gap in his memory that could very well explain his injuries.
The story Allenby told — and largely stands by — included a potential drugging at the wine bar, a kidnapping and waking up in a dangerous situation at a nearby park. Several eyewitnesses and players in the story contradicted Allenby’s account, ranging from how Allenby hurt himself and where he went after leaving the wine bar.
In the end, the only certainty to the tale was the arrest and conviction of Owen Harbison, now serving five years for using Allenby’s stolen credit cards. How Harbison obtained those is still somewhat murky.
The whole thing turned Allenby, who has four PGA Tour wins in 17 seasons, into the butt of many jokes. The incident and the resulting fallout was the kickoff to a disastrous 2015, where he made only seven cuts in 29 starts. He lost his PGA Tour status and is using a one-time exemption based on his top-50 status in career PGA Tour earnings to play this year.
”I’ve got so many great memories here that I wasn’t going to let one bad one interrupt it,” Allenby said Sunday, according to the AP. ”I also thought for my own well-being that maybe I could come here and face it and put some closure on what happened last year.”
Allenby not only wants to put behind him an ugly incident, but he also has a healthy record at Sony Open in Hawaii host Waialae Country Club, including a runner-up finish in 2010.
He may not be in complete control of what unfolds inside the ropes, but he has a plan to make sure there is no possibility of a repeat incident from a year ago. His night time plans include “room service and (the hotel) restaurant.”
Ryan Ballengee is a Yahoo Sports contributor. Find him on Facebook and Twitter.
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