Australian golfer Robert Allenby competing on the PGA Tour.
Allenby’s first major breakthrough was his 1991 victory in the Victorian Open as an amateur. He recalled that his father, Don, caddied for him during the final round and that the win helped launch his professional career. He then turned professional and quickly won the PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit in 1992 and 1994.
Allenby has four PGA Tour victories, four European Tour victories and 22 worldwide professional victories according to the U.S. Senior Open player biography. His highest major-championship finishes were tied seventh at the 2004 U.S. Open and 2008 Open Championship, with a tied ninth at the 2004 PGA Championship and tied 22nd at the 2006 Masters. He won the PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit in 1992 and 1994 and was named that tour’s Rookie of the Year and Player of the Year in 1992. He received the 2001 Ben Hogan Award after returning to competition following serious injuries sustained in a 2000 traffic accident. He was awarded the Australian Sports Medal in 2000.
His defining sporting achievement was becoming the first golfer to win Australia’s Triple Crown—the Australian Open, Australian Masters and Australian PGA Championship—in the same season in 2005. Other landmark moments include his four PGA Tour victories in 2000 and 2001, his 2009 Nedbank Golf Challenge playoff win over Henrik Stenson, and his fourth Australian PGA Championship victory in 2009. His 1991 Victorian Open win as an amateur remains the breakthrough moment he has personally identified as launching his professional career.