Allenby: American players have it too easy

Poor Robert Allenby. He knows his outspoken ways can get him in trouble, yet he just can't stop speaking his mind. Fans of golf should appreciate the guy; we don't have many players like him. At the Dubai World Championship, a reporter asked Allenby why more American players don't play international events. You can almost hear the angel and devil arguing across his shoulders.

"You know what, I've got to word this right so I don't get into trouble, because I'm good at getting myself into trouble," Allenby said.

Did he word it right? Sure, if he meant to say that American players are spoiled and that PGA Tour courses are dull. Common enough opinions, but not usually heard from a Tour pro. Here's his answer:

"You know, Americans play for so much money, and when you've got a purse where $1 million, a million plus, is first prize, not to say that they are spoiled, but it's a little bit that way. It's like, well, why would I want to travel, when I can make a million bucks instead of going to Europe and only making $500,000 or $600,000?"

"The reason why I want to travel and play elsewhere is because I want my game to get better, and always, even at the age of 38, I want to get better. And the only way you can get better is to play different golf courses. If you're playing the same golf course every week, every year that you come back to, it just gets a little boring. For me, that's what I've found. I've got a little bit bored playing in America. I'll still play there full time, but I'm still going to try to play more tournaments in Europe at the same time and combine the two together."

"But I just think, you know, they have got it a little bit too easy. It's just everything is handed to them on a silver plate. And not to be rude or anything like that, because I'm very respectful for the amount of money that we do play for in America. We are very lucky and very fortunate. But I think the money that we play for in America, that's the reason why you don't see a lot of Americans or a lot more international players coming over and playing in Europe. They are in a comfort zone, and I think that's pretty much what it is."

Follow Mike Walker on Twitter.

Aussie fans rip no-show Allenby

Anthony Kim must love these guys.

In the midst of Tigermania at the Australian Masters, Peter Hanlon of The Age newspaper found "Robbie Rousers," a group of fans who come to cheer the golf and heckle Australian player Robert Allenby, who withdrew from this year's event. It's a must-read. Here's Hanlon's description of the shirts:

Beneath a pair of clinking beer tankards* on the left breast, their mission was writ large: ''Robert Allenby Cheer-Up Squad.'' On the back, Allenby's face was superimposed onto a large image of the elusive children's book character in the red and white hoops, Wally, carrying a giant dummy under the reworked slogan, ''Where's Robbie?''

Allenby got under Kim's skin after this year's Presidents Cup when he accused Kim of partying until 4 a.m. the night before their match. (Kim won easily.) The guys in the Robert Allenby Cheer-up Squad have a similar beef with Allenby, according to Hanlon.

Their testy relationship with Allenby goes back to The Vines a couple of years ago. ''He just came over to us on one hole and said, 'How's the beers working out for you boys?''' one of the Colins said. ''We were like, 'Yeah, good thanks.' Next hole he comes over and has another crack: 'Jealousy's a wonderful thing, isn't it boys?' We all blew up. We followed him for the rest of the round just giving it to him. My brother's said to him on the par three, 'Robert! Water on the right mate! Water on the right!' Sure enough, he's hit it in the piss. Next hole he's walking up the fairway flipping us [the bird]. His caddie's come over and had a go at us. He got security involved in the end. We actually didn't say too much to him, apart from just giving him a bit of heckling after he started into us. We saw him in the bar afterwards and said, 'Come and have a beer, Rob'. Nah, he was filthy at us. He's just a miserable so-and-so. Am I allowed to say that?''

*Tankards just means beer mugs. I had to look it up too.

Follow Mike Walker on Twitter.

Charles Barkley offers advice to Anthony Kim

Charles Barkley may not be the right man to turn to for swing tips, and he's had his share of off-the-course problems, including a DUI arrest last February. Still, Anthony Kim might want to pay attention to Sir Charles's most recent advice. Referring to the Presidents Cup controversy surrounding Kim and his exchange of words with Robert Allenby, Barkley offered a few suggestions this week during an interview with ESPN Radio Dallas:

I have become friends with Anthony Kim and I was talking to him the other day trying to tell him: Let this B.S. with Robert Allenby go. Nothing good is going to happen if you all are going back-and-forth. The one thing that I will say about Tiger is that when we go out, he can drink. He drinks but he never drinks when he has got a tournament. So I think you distinguish those two. If we are just going to Vegas to screw around or we are just going around, he might have a couple of beers or something. If he has got a tournament, he does not drink. .... You can have fun when you are off: Ok, I got a tournament this week. Tiger won’t even do caffeine the week of a tournament. He thought that it screwed up his putting stroke. You know how sometimes caffeine has got you jittery? I mean just simple stuff like that. (Host: What about sex?) What about sex? I sure hope that nobody stops that. I hope nobody stops that.”

Aussie pro's secret to success: Don’t be a 'wuss'

Listen up, squirt! If you’re fixing to be the next Tiger Woods or Greg Norman, Aussie pro Peter Lonard has a word of advice: Don’t be a wuss. Lonard dished the tough-love tip yesterday at the Australian PGA, saying the game’s elite players have become too reliant on the likes of psychologists, yoga instructors and mystical gurus.

"With all those people helping, you don't want to make players wussy. They've got to be tough and do it themselves," Lonard said.

"Obviously, it's a fine line. Some guys improve with help. Others get worse because of too much input and too much rubbish to worry about which doesn't have a whole lot to do with playing golf."

Lonard has never had a particularly sunny disposition. (After finding himself a couple shots off the lead after the second round of the 2007 Players Championship, he told reporters, “Well, if I had a psychologist I would say my glass is half full, but if I was a pessimistic individual like I am, I'd say the other way.”) But he’s right about the preponderance of pep teams in the pro game. Stroll the range at any Tour event and, for better or for worse, you’ll find players encircled by packs of supporters  — coaches, trainers, even the odd masseuse.

Clearly not all Tour pros share Lonard's skepticism. Stewart Cink regularly speaks with psychologist Preston Waddington. Cink hired Waddington seven years ago because he could barely face the pressure of teeing it up on Tour. “I’m a nervous wreck before I play,” he told Waddington, according to a 2007 interview in our magazine.

Robert Allenby, long plagued by a fiery temper, now works with “lifestyle coach” Peter Crone, whose web site warns: “LISTENING TO PETER MAY SERIOUSLY DAMAGE YOUR EGO AND INSPIRE UNUSUAL SENSATIONS OF FUN, VITALITY AND HAPPINESS.” And birdies, it seems. Since teaming with Crone, Allenby has resuscitated his game and climbed (quite happily) to 27th in the world.   
 
Then there’s Phil Mickelson, perhaps the game’s most psychologically intriguing player. Mickelson doesn’t work regularly with a shrink — at least not that we know of — but he’s clearly a believer in the practice. He majored in psychology at Arizona State.