So far, Allenby greeted with few hecklers at Phoenix Open
When Robert Allenby called a news conference ahead of the Waste Management Phoenix Open, a lot of people wondered why the Aussie would subject himself to the merciless fans at TPC Scottsdale's par-3 16th.
They boo if you back off your shot, miss the green or do anything that's not entertaining. They research for chants. That sounded like a recipe for a miserable experience for Allenby, whose version of events after missing the cut at the Sony Open in Hawaii has been lampooned, poked at and contradicted without resolution.
Turns out, the fans were good to the 43-year-old on Thursday as Allenby shot 1-under 70.
“I was a little bit, you know, a little bit nervous going into 16,” Allenby said. “I was actually really surprised. They were fantastic, you know. There was nothing mean at all. … I think some of the comments were actually pretty funny.”
Allenby's story may not entirely add up, but ultimately he was the victim of a robbery, losing his credit cards to at least one person who has used them to rack up over $20,000 in fraudulent charges. Besides, the crowd at 16 wants to have a good time, not give someone a hard time.
If the Aussie duplicates his opening 70, he'll have made the cut for the 10th time in 12 career Phoenix starts.
Ryan Ballengee is a Yahoo Sports contributor. Find him on Facebook and Twitter.
