# Robert Allenby

Robert Allenby (born 12 July 1971) is an Australian professional golfer.

## Early years

Allenby was born in Melbourne on 12 July 1971. He is of English descent, with his father being a native of Leeds.

## Professional career

He turned professional in 1992 and was successful almost immediately, topping the PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit in his first season and again in 1994. He continues to play some events on his home tour and has won 13 times in Australassia, including the Victorian Open as an amateur. He also began to play on the European Tour and it was his principal tour until 1998. He won four tournaments on it, including three in 1996, when he finished third on the Order of Merit. He has featured in the top 20 of the Official World Golf Rankings.
Allenby now plays primarily in the U.S. on the PGA Tour. He earned exempt status for 1999 by finishing 17th at the 1998 Qualifying School. He had a disappointing first season in America, coming 126th on the money list, but came good in 2000 when he won the Shell Houston Open and the Advil Western Open. He claimed another pair of wins the following season. In both of those years he came 16th on the money list. He has not won since but finished in the top 50 each year from 2002 to 2004. His performances in the major championships have been somewhat disappointing; his highest placing in a major is tied seventh at the 2004 U.S. Open. In 2005 he became the first golfer to win the "triple crown" of the Australian Masters, Australian PGA and Australian Open in the same year.
Allenby played for the International Team in the Presidents Cup in 1994, 1996, 2000, 2003 and 2009. After posting a 2–2–1 record in the 2009 Presidents Cup, Allenby accused Anthony Kim of being ill-prepared for his Sunday singles match, in which Allenby lost 5 and 3. In December 2009 Allenby became the first Australian to win the Nedbank Golf Challenge in South Africa, defeating Henrik Stenson in a playoff. It was his first professional win in four years, but he did not have to wait long for the next as he returned home to claim his fourth Australian PGA Championship title the following week.
Allenby missed the cut in the 2011 Masters Tournament by one stroke after bogeying the 18th hole of the second round. In February 2012, Allenby missed an opportunity to end an eleven-year drought on the PGA Tour, when he took a two stroke advantage to the 72nd hole of the Mayakoba Golf Classic. He hit his tee shot into the trees on the right and proceeded to make double bogey to fall into a playoff with rookie John Huh. He lost out at the eighth extra hole when he could only bogey the par three 10th, leaving Huh with a tap in par for the tournament. Both players had made par on all seven previous holes throughout the playoff until this point.

## Controversies

Statements made by Allenby at the 2009 and 2011 Presidents Cups generated controversy. In 2009, following a loss to American Anthony Kim in the Sunday singles, Allenby accused Kim of partying all night on the eve of the Singles matches. That statement was vehemently denied by Kim and the members of the American team. In 2011, following a 0–4–0 record at the Presidents Cup where he failed to gain any points for the International team, he asserted that his record wasn't completely his fault and cited his partners' poor play as a reason. His partners, including Geoff Ogilvy, were displeased with Allenby's comments. The following week, at the Australian PGA Championship, Allenby got into contention which resulted in Ogilvy making a tweet that Allenby perceived as being sarcastic. After the tournament ended, Allenby exchanged heated words with Ogilvy and came close to having a physical altercation with Ogilvy.
In July 2015 at the RBC Canadian Open, Allenby had a verbal altercation with his caddie, Mick Middlemo, after playing four holes. While Allenby says that he was verbally abused and threatened by Middlemo, Middlemo says Allenby was verbally abusive. Middlemo walked off the course and Allenby selected a school principal from the gallery to carry his clubs the rest of the round. Later reports from another caddy in the group, Simon Clarke, seemed to indicate the problem was with Allenby. Clarke said, "I've known Rob for a long time and I've known Mick for a long time. It's disappointing that at age 42, or however old he [Allenby] is, he's still treating people that way and how many good caddies he's gone through."

## Personal life

Allenby resides in Jupiter, Florida.
Allenby is a patron of the Challenge Cancer Support Network, which has raised more than AU$9 million since 1993 for children with cancer and blood disorders. On 22 June 2000, he was awarded the Australian Sports Medal.
Allenby said he was kidnapped while drinking at a bar in Honolulu on 17 January 2015, with his kidnappers robbing and beating him before leaving him in a park several miles away. An arrest was made concerning the false use of his credit card when it was used to spend US$32,000 at a strip club, which was filed as a case of mistaken identity.

## Amateur wins

* 1989 (1) Australian Juniors Amateur Championship
* 1990 (2) Victorian Amateur Championship, Riversdale Cup
* 1991 (1) Riversdale Cup

## Professional wins (22)
### PGA Tour wins (4)

| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | Margin of victory | Runner(s)-up |
| 1 | 30 Apr 2000 | Shell Houston Open | −13 (68-67-68-72=275) | Playoff | Craig Stadler |
| 2 | 9 Jul 2000 | Advil Western Open | −14 (69-69-68-68=274) | Playoff | Nick Price |
| 3 | 25 Feb 2001 | Nissan Open | −8 (73-64-69-70=276) | Playoff | Brandel Chamblee, Toshimitsu Izawa, Dennis Paulson, Jeff Sluman, Bob Tway |
| 4 | 23 Sep 2001 | Marconi Pennsylvania Classic | −19 (70-65-66-68=269) | 3 strokes | Larry Mize, Rocco Mediate |
PGA Tour playoff record (3–2)
| No. | Year | Tournament | Opponent(s) | Result |
| 1 | 2000 | Shell Houston Open | Craig Stadler | Won with par on fourth extra hole |
| 2 | 2000 | Advil Western Open | Nick Price | Won with par on first extra hole |
| 3 | 2001 | Nissan Open | Brandel Chamblee, Toshimitsu Izawa, Dennis Paulson, Jeff Sluman, Bob Tway | Won with birdie on first extra hole |
| 4 | 2008 | Stanford St. Jude Championship | Trevor Immelman, Justin Leonard | Leonard won with birdie on second extra hole |
| 5 | 2012 | Mayakoba Golf Classic | John Huh | Lost to par on eighth extra hole |

### European Tour wins (4)

| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | Margin of victory | Runner(s)-up |
| 1 | 12 Jun 1994 | Honda Open | −12 (72-67-68-69=276) | Playoff | Miguel Ángel Jiménez |
| 2 | 9 Jun 1996 | Alamo English Open | −10 (69-71-69-69=278) | 1 stroke | Ross McFarlane, Colin Montgomerie |
| 3 | 30 Jun 1996 | Peugeot Open de France | −16 (70-65-68-69=272) | Playoff | Bernhard Langer |
| 4 | 31 Aug 1996 | One 2 One British Masters | −4 (69-71-71-73=284) | Playoff | Miguel Ángel Martín |
European Tour playoff record (3–0)
| No. | Year | Tournament | Opponent | Result |
| 1 | 1994 | Honda Open | Miguel Ángel Jiménez | Won with par on third extra hole |
| 2 | 1996 | Peugeot Open de France | Bernhard Langer | Won with birdie on first extra hole |
| 3 | 1996 | One 2 One British Masters | Miguel Ángel Martín | Won after concession on first extra hole |

### Sunshine Tour wins (1)

| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | Margin of victory | Runner-up |
| 1 | 6 Dec 2009 | Nedbank Golf Challenge | −11 (68-70-68-71=277) | Playoff | Henrik Stenson |
Sunshine Tour playoff record (1–0)
| No. | Year | Tournament | Opponent | Result |
| 1 | 2009 | Nedbank Golf Challenge | Henrik Stenson | Won with par on third extra hole |

### PGA Tour of Australasia wins (12)

* Legend
* Flagship events (2)
* Other PGA Tour of Australasia (10)
| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | Margin of victory | Runner(s)-up |
| 1 | 18 Oct 1992 | Perak Masters | −13 (66-70-68-71=275) | 2 strokes | Stuart Bouvier, Marimuthu Ramayah |
| 2 | 6 Dec 1992 | Johnnie Walker Australian Classic | −13 (66-68-69-72=275) | 5 strokes | Peter Senior |
| 3 | 24 Jan 1993 | Optus Players Championship | −14 (71-66-69-68=274) | Playoff | Wayne Grady |
| 4 | 27 Nov 1994 | Heineken Australian Open | −8 (70-70-70-70=280) | 1 stroke | Brett Ogle |
| 5 | 5 Feb 1995 | Heineken Classic | −10 (73-66-67-72=278) | 1 stroke | Wayne Smith |
| 6 | 3 Dec 2000 | Australian PGA Championship | −13 (69-64-72-70=275) | 1 stroke | Steven Conran |
| 7 | 18 Nov 2001 (2002 season) | Australian PGA Championship (2) | −15 (65-69-70-69=273) | 1 stroke | Geoff Ogilvy |
| 8 | 7 Dec 2003 | MasterCard Masters | −11 (67-67-72-71=277) | Playoff | Jarrod Moseley, Craig Parry, Adam Scott |
| 9 | 27 Nov 2005 | Australian Open (2) | −4 (63-72-72-77=284) | 1 stroke | Nick O'Hern, John Senden, Paul Sheehan |
| 10 | 4 Dec 2005 | Cadbury Schweppes Centenary Australian PGA Championship (3) | −18 (68-71-64-67=270) | 1 stroke | Mathew Goggin |
| 11 | 11 Dec 2005 | MasterCard Masters (2) | −17 (67-68-68-68=271) | Playoff | Bubba Watson |
| 12 | 13 Dec 2009 | Australian PGA Championship$^1$ (4) | −14 (70-68-66-66=270) | 4 strokes | John Senden, Scott Strange |
$^1$Co-sanctioned by the OneAsia Tour
PGA Tour of Australasia playoff record (3–1)
| No. | Year | Tournament | Opponent(s) | Result |
| 1 | 1993 | Optus Players Championship | Wayne Grady | Won with birdie on first extra hole |
| 2 | 2003 | MasterCard Masters | Jarrod Moseley, Craig Parry, Adam Scott | Won with birdie on second extra hole Moseley and Parry eliminated by birdie on first hole |
| 3 | 2005 | MasterCard Masters | Bubba Watson | Won with par on first extra hole |
| 4 | 2011 | Australian PGA Championship | Greg Chalmers, Marcus Fraser | Chalmers won with par on first extra hole |

### Other wins (1)

| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | Margin of victory | Runners-up |
| 1 | 3 Nov 1991 | Victorian Open (as an amateur) | −1 (76-70-66-75=287) | 6 strokes | David Armstrong, Paul Moloney |

## Results in major championships

| Tournament | 1991 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 |
| Masters Tournament | | | | | | CUT | | |
| U.S. Open | | T33 | | | | CUT | | T46 |
| The Open Championship | CUT | CUT | T60 | T15 | T56 | T10 | T19 | |
| PGA Championship | | CUT | | CUT | CUT | T49 | T13 | CUT |
| Tournament | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 |
| Masters Tournament | | 47 | T29 | T39 | CUT | CUT | T22 | CUT | T42 | T38 |
| U.S. Open | | CUT | T12 | CUT | T7 | CUT | T16 | CUT | T18 | CUT |
| The Open Championship | T36 | T47 | CUT | T43 | CUT | T52 | T16 | CUT | T7 | T52 |
| PGA Championship | T19 | T16 | T10 | T39 | T9 | CUT | T20 | CUT | T31 | T24 |
| Tournament | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2014 |
| Masters Tournament | T45 | CUT | | |
| U.S. Open | T29 | CUT | | CUT |
| The Open Championship | T27 | T48 | CUT | |
| PGA Championship | | T26 | CUT | |
CUT = missed the half-way cut "T" = tied

### Summary

| Tournament | Wins | 2nd | 3rd | Top-5 | Top-10 | Top-25 | Events | Cuts made |
| Masters Tournament | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 12 | 7 |
| U.S. Open | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 15 | 7 |
| The Open Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 20 | 14 |
| PGA Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 18 | 11 |
| Totals | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 17 | 65 | 39 |
* Most consecutive cuts made – 7 (2000 Open Championship – 2002 U.S. Open)
* Longest streak of top-10s – 1 (five times)

## Results in The Players Championship

| Tournament | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 |
| The Players Championship | 73 | CUT | CUT | | |
| Tournament | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 |
| The Players Championship | T53 | T21 | T11 | T4 | T33 | CUT | T38 | CUT | T42 | T14 |
| Tournament | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 |
| The Players Championship | 2 | T50 | T61 | CUT | | T56 |
CUT = missed the halfway cut "T" indicates a tie for a place

## Results in World Golf Championships

| Tournament | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 |
| Match Play | | R32 | R64 | R16 | R32 | QF | R32 | R64 | R64 | R64 | R32 | R64 | |
| Championship | T25 | NT$^1$ | T31 | T21 | T54 | | T26 | T3 | T20 | T28 | T11 | T15 | |
| Invitational | T12 | T23 | T2 | T6 | T9 | | T22 | 81 | T20 | T2 | | T48 | 69 |
| Champions | | | | | | | | | | T23 | T21 | | T56 |
$^1$Cancelled due to 9/11
QF, R16, R32, R64 = Round in which player lost in match play "T" = tied NT = No Tournament Note that the HSBC Champions did not become a WGC event until 2009.

## Results in senior major championships

| Tournament | 2021 | 2022 |
| The Tradition | – | 62 |
| Senior PGA Championship | – | CUT |
| U.S. Senior Open | – | CUT |
| Senior Players Championship | – | 76 |
| The Senior Open Championship | T64 | CUT |
CUT = missed the halfway cut "T" indicates a tie for a place

## Team appearances

Amateur
* Eisenhower Trophy (representing Australia): 1990
* Nomura Cup (representing Australia): 1991 (winners)
* Sloan Morpeth Trophy (representing Australia): 1990 (winners), 1991 (winners)
* Australian Men's Interstate Teams Matches (representing Victoria): 1989, 1990, 1991
Professional
* World Cup (representing Australia): 1993, 1995, 2009
* Dunhill Cup (representing Australia): 1994, 1997
* Presidents Cup (International Team): 1994, 1996, 2000, 2003 (tie), 2009, 2011
* Alfred Dunhill Challenge (representing Australasia): 1995