Twenty years on from his historic Triple Crown where he won the Australian Open, PGA and Masters in consecutive weeks, Robert Allenby reflects on one of golf’s most extraordinary accomplishments
Believe it or not, I actually didn’t think I was going to play that Australian Open at Moonah Links. About a month prior to coming down to Australia, I had tripped over, cut my hand open and had to have stitches in my right hand. My hand was killing me, and I was like, I don’t know if I’m going to be able to play.
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I was staying at my mate Rob Curtain’s house down in Sorrento. Lucas Parsons was over on that Wednesday night. We’re having a barbecue at Rob’s house, having a couple of red wines and I’m like, “My tee time’s at 8 o’clock. I don’t think I’m going to go. I don’t think I’m ready to play.” And my buddy Rob’s like, “Oh, come on. Get off your butt and just go win the thing.”
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I truck my way out to Moonah Links for the first round the next morning. I tee off and I’m like, birdie, birdie, birdie. I then go: three-putt bogey, birdie, birdie, birdie, birdie. Next minute, I’m nine-under and thinking, Maybe Rob’s right. Maybe I am going to win this thing.
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If you got out there early on that Thursday morning, you got the best draw. There’s no question about it. If you were off in the afternoon, you had no chance. The conditions were nearly impossible. They were at their worst and I only just hung on.
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On the Sunday, I had to get the physio out on the golf course because my arm and bicep were starting to hurt because they were compensating for the hand. I got a lot of work done on my arm and so forth throughout the last five holes.
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My children, Harry and Lily, were 6 and 3 at the time. We went to a pub in Portsea on the Sunday night and Harry wanted to drink lemonade out of the Stonehaven Cup, and so did Lily. We filled it to the brim with lemonade, got two straws and let them drink the whole thing. Once they were finished, I asked the barman if he could wash it out, dry it and then we filled it with two or three bottles of Penfold Grange and then the adults all drank out of it.
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The funny part about the next week at the Australian PGA – and not many people know this – I was coming down the back nine on Sunday and said to my caddie Dion, “Whatever we do coming down the last hole, I have to make a birdie to win this tournament.” I was tied with Mathew Goggin. I rip a 3-wood down the middle of the fairway and now I’ve got an 8-iron in and the flag’s sort of back, middle-left, but really close to the water, which is a perfect shot for me, hitting a draw. I said, “Look, I’m going to hit this to about a foot and tap it in. You’re going to pack the bag up and I’m going to do the quickest press interview ever.” The last flight out of Brisbane was like 8 o’clock, and I didn’t want to miss it because I had my Challenge charity golf day on the Monday in Melbourne.
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I hit it to two feet, I tap it in, shake hands, quickly do media and drive down to Brisbane Airport and get on the plane. We only just made it; I think they held the plane for us, believe it or not. We had the charity day at Yarra Yarra on the Monday and then it’s Australian Masters week.
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I was paired in the last group on Sunday with Nick O’Hern, and Nick had about a three or four-shot lead. By the time we got to probably hole 10, we were either even or I was one shot in front. I started making a few more birdies and then, all of a sudden, this great big left-hander called Bubba Watson starts making a run of birdies on the back nine. And I’m like, Where’s he come from?
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We finish tied and go to a playoff. If there’s one thing I know about Huntingdale Golf Club is that the greens are fast on a Sunday afternoon. I hit a 9-iron about 12 feet past the hole in the playoff; hit a great shot in there. And then Bubba had a flick sand wedge for the length that he has, and he hit it to about eight or nine feet. My putt is downhill and it’s slicker than an orange peel; back in those days those greens were running at about 15. They were the fastest greens in the world. I just tapped it down there to a foot-and-a-half past the hole and said, “I’ll finish.” I tap it in and he hits his putt. I could see that if it didn’t hit the hole, he’s going four or five feet past. Sure enough, it went four or five feet past, and I said to Dion, “He’s going to miss this. I can see him shaking.” He missed it – he pushed it – and so I win the tournament. And I’ve won the Triple Crown.
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I know Peter Senior’s won a few events in a row – maybe an Open, PGA and Johnnie Walker Classic – but to win the Open, the PGA and the Masters was definitely one of the greatest achievements in my career. It’s definitely a big part of me. The Triple Crown was a huge achievement, and to be the only player to have ever done it obviously sits very highly.
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Adam Scott had a chance to do it at Royal Sydney back in 2013. He had a one-shot lead against Rory McIlroy at the Aussie Open going up the last. I still remember the commentators saying, “If Adam Scott wins the Australian Open, he’ll be the first person to win the Triple Crown with Robert Allenby.” I still remember the words that came out. I was like, Well, he’d be the second person to win the Triple Crown because Robert Allenby has already won the Triple Crown. Just seemed a funny way of phrasing it.
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I had a manager back in the ’90s who said something that stuck in my head. When I won, he would say, “You’re only as good as your last event.” After winning the Open, I went into the PGA with a lot of confidence and then I go win that. I’m coming into the Masters and I’m like, Well, I’m only as good as my last tournament and I’m a champion. So you know what? I can win this one, too. When you let yourself go and not think about the outcome or the consequences, it’s amazing what you can achieve.
Photograph by Jensen Larson
