Australian golfer Allenby kidnapped and robbed in Hawaii

Australian golfer Robert Allenby was recovering on Saturday from facial injuries after he was kidnapped, beaten, robbed and dumped in a park in Honolulu.

Allenby, 43, was in Hawaii to compete in the Sony Open at the Waialae Country Club in Honolulu, but missed the cut and was planning to fly home on Saturday, the Golf Channel reported on its website.

But on Friday night, while at the Amuse Wine Bar in Waikiki with his caddie and a friend, Allenby said he was taken from the bar and robbed of his wallet, cell phone, cash and credit cards before waking up groggy in a park about six miles (10 km) away.

"I'm just glad to be alive," Allenby told Reuters by telephone.

"I'm still in a bit of shock. I've been checked out by a doctor, and I should be ok.

"I was separated from my friend in the bar after we had paid the tab," Allenby recounted.

"Next thing you know, I'm being dumped in a park miles away. A homeless woman found me and told me she saw a few guys pull up and throw me out of a car."

Allenby said he had no recollection of what had happened and that he was discovered outside the park by a man he described as "a retired military guy," who paid for a taxi back to his hotel.

"I called police from there," Allenby said.

According to the Golf Channel, police are reviewing surveillance footage from the bar to try to identify a suspect.

Attempts by Reuters to reach Honolulu police on Saturday were not immediately successful.

Allenby missed the cut at this week's Sony Open after shooting successive rounds of one-over-par 71 at Waialae.

He has won four times on the US PGA Tour, most recently at the 2001 Pennsylvania Classic. He turned professional in 1992 and has won 18 other tournaments around the world, including 13 on the PGA Tour of Australasia.

In 2005, Allenby became the first player to complete the Australian 'Triple Crown' with victories in successive weeks at the Australian Open, Australian PGA Championship and Australian Masters.

Image: Robert Allenby of Australia plays his shot from the 17th tee during the second round of the Sony Open in Hawaii at Waialae Country Club on Friday

Photograph: Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images