Date: November 23, 2007
Author: Bren O'Brien

Allenby fresh for home assault

World No. 48 Robert Allenby is confident he can make an impression on the Australian summer of golf, despite a difficult finish to his 2007 US Tour season. Two years ago Allenby swept all before him on his end of year trip back home winning the triple crown, the MasterCard Masters, the Cadbury Schweppes Australian PGA and the MFS Australian Open. But since that period he has not won another tournament, and ended a tough year on the US Tour with three straight missed cuts. But the 36-year-old says he is far from jaded despite playing 28 events on the US Tour this year. He finished 20th on the Tour moneylist helped by eight top ten finishes including third placings in the Nissan Open and the CA Championship early in the year. Allenby also believes he is fresh and ready to take on Huntingdale next week for the Mastercard Masters, a tournament he has won twice before, as well as December&aposs MFS Australian Open, where he will also be looking for a third success. “I&aposm feeling really good fantastic and I feel like my game is coming round,” Allenby told a teleconference. “It&aposs been a good year really. I finished inside the top 30 for the first time in the last four years. I started off really well and gave myself three of four chances to win but didn&apost. But, by the time I got to Augusta, I was starting to feel really tired and my fitness levels had started to fall off.” He admitted that the latter half of 2007 had been a letdown, especially missing the cut at all four majors. “I know I should be winning two or three times a year in the US and be inside the top ten in the world so hopefully next year the real Robert Allenby will stand up,” he said. Even with such a wealth of experience behind him, the Victorian-born golfer has been remodelling his swing in a bid to avoid injury problems. “My swing has always been a little too upright, which causes big divots which in turn causes pressure on my body. I have finally realised through another coach that was the case,” he said. “It is hard to take those changes onto the golf course and have been working on those changes for almost a year, so it has been an experimental year to some extent but finishing inside the top 30 means it has not been all bad.” Allenby won&apost play the Cadbury Schweppes Australian PGA, citing commitments to both family and his growing golf design business. He will head back to the US after the MFS Australian Open at The Australian Golf Club from December 13-16.