Robert Allenby skips Humana Challenge, meets kidnapping witness he says was paid to lie

Robert Allenby pulled out of this week’s Humana Challenge on Tuesday, four days after he was reportedly drugged, kidnapped, beaten up, and robbed following a missed cut at the Sony Open.

“On the advice of my personal doctor, I have decided to withdraw from this week’s Humana Challenge,” Allenby, who has steadfastly insisted to skeptics of his story that the bruises and cuts on his face proved he was assaulted in Hawaii, said in a statement via the PGA Tour. “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.”

Golf Channel originally reported on Allenby’s ordeal, which the Australian golfer said began when he was kidnapped from a wine bar near Waikiki, where he had gone with his caddie and another friend after the second round of the Sony. Security footage reportedly showed Allenby leaving the bar’s parking lot around 11 p.m. Friday with several people, after which the four-time tour winner claimed he was abducted, tossed in the trunk of a car, and dumped in a park several miles away.

Allenby’s caddie Mick Middelmo told Golf Channel his employer woke up in a daze, with no memory of what happened, and without his wallet, cellphone, cash, and credit cards. Details on who saw what and how Allenby got back to his hotel remain as hazy as the golfer’s recall. A report Monday stated that a homeless woman, Charade Keane, witnessed him being tossed from the car about a block from the bar, not the six miles Allenby claimed, and pulled him away from homeless men who were confronting him.

Allenby exchanged text messages with Golf Channel’s Tim Rosaforte in which he challenged at least some of the woman’s version of events.

“I’m guessing she’s getting paid,” said Allenby, who claimed he was targeted for the assault but did not indicate who may have been paying the woman. “It’s such a shame that people are focusing on whether the story is true. I say you only have to look at me to see the truth.”

The odyssey took yet another bizarre twist on Monday, when Allenby met his rescuer — the same woman he reportedly charged with taking money to contradict his story — in a reunion filmed by Channel 7 News, whose anchor questioned the veracity of the Aussie’s claims, calling them “sketchy.”

Allenby, who has earned more than $28 million in his career, gave $1,000 to the woman.

“Once again, I would like to thank the local authorities in Hawaii as well as the PGA Tour for their assistance,” Allenby said in his statement. “I am also grateful for all the kind words of support I have received from so many people. Any further updates on the investigation will come from local law enforcement.”