tim rosaforte
allenby: norman’s secret weapon
robert allenby was packing for a trip to the bahamas sept. 25 when his
cellphone started ringing
and the caller i.d. said,
“blocked.” allenby was
expecting the call, but
was uncertain of the result. “rob, can you keep a
secret?” said the unmistakable voice of greg norman.
with that opening line, allenby knew he was on the
presidents cup team, but
he played along.
visiting atlanta ac for the
pga, norman told allenby
and geoff ogilvy they were
locks. his perfect scenario
unfolded when ogilvy ral-
lied to make the team
with strong finishes at the
deutsche bank champion-
ship (where he birdied the
72nd hole to advance to
chicago) and the bmw
championship.
but i didn’t want to rely on
that,” said allenby, who
was uncertain what to
think after a 75 saturday at
cog hill. “i didn’t want to
make it hard because it was
already hard enough.”
head competitive spirit
having an influence not
only in the team room,
but also on the course he
holds so dear. “i just have
something for royal mel-
bourne,” allenby said from
his boat in the bahamas
tuesday. “i’ve been play-
ing there since i was 12.”
“i’ll do my best,” allenby
said.
“you’re my no. 1 pick,” said
norman.
allenby was 23 when he
played in the first presidents cup in 1994. he
missed the international’s
only victory in 1998, recovering from an automobile
crash in spain two years
earlier. at 40, he returns
as greg norman’s secret
weapon.
freddie couples continued
to take heat tuesday night
after officially designating
tiger woods to the united
states team, thus snubbing
pga champion keegan
bradley, but in actuality,
norman quietly executed
the same deal with his international squad without the
drama or angst.
at the tour championship,
aaron baddeley and John
senden were put under the
same stress test as brad-
ley, bill haas and brandt
snedeker—low finisher at
east lake would get the
last spot on their respec-
tive teams. baddeley
responded, as did haas. “i
knew greg was watching
closely,” said baddeley.
“there was so much on
the line.”
with five australians
(including adam scott and
Jason day) on the team,
norman is clearly bank-
ing not only on support
from the home fans, but
local knowledge and track
records at storied royal
melbourne, the host site.
ranked 55th in the world,
allenby wasn’t picked on
his form as much as his
two victories on the hal-
lowed ground. like allenby,
ogilvy is a member and
actually owns a house on
the course. baddeley grew
up an hour away and has
also won there, including
as an amateur.
allenby didn’t have anything on the line in atlanta—because he didn’t
qualify. “in the back of my
mind, i knew i’d be a pick,
in designating him as the
“automatic pick,” norman
talked about allenby’s
tenacity and head-to-
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