Playing with a heavy heart, Allenby sets the early pace

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Robert Allenby is looking for his first win on the PGA TOUR since the end of the 2001 season.

PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. -- Robert Allenby has been a professional golfer for too long -- 17 years -- to start thinking about winning The Honda Classic just because he has the first-round lead after Thursday's 4-under 66.

But how can he not think about what it would mean to be lifting the trophy late Sunday, less than six weeks after his mother, Sylvia, 71, died of cancer?

"It would definitely mean a great deal to me after losing my mom a month ago," said Allenby, who has a one-shot lead over six golfers: Sergio Garcia, Stewart Cink, Chrlie Wi, Jeff Overton, Angel Cabrera and Will MacKenzie.

Allenby spent the latter part of 2008 desperately trying to win a tournament as a final tribute to his mother, who died of cancer on Jan. 31 in Australia. Problem was, the 37-year-old Aussie tried too hard.

There was the heartbreaking scene at the Australian Masters last November when he broke down with his emotions on the golf course, all in front of a supportive and saddened gallery.

Allenby went to the par-3 15th hole just one shot out of the lead. He knew the plan was for family members to take his mom onto the course in a golf cart late in the round so she could watch the finish. He realized this might be the final time she would have the strength to watch him play in person.

Standing on the 15th tee, Allenby saw his mom arrive, not knowing how much it would impact his game. He says he hit a "fat" 6-iron into a bunker, blasted that shot over the green into another bunker and took two more tries before he got the ball on the green. He somehow made a 25-footer for a double bogey that ended his chances of winning.

Allenby readily admits he lost his composure -- and then he lost it. The weight of the moment caused tears to roll down Allenby's face as he crouched on the 15th green.

"I just let everything get to me," said Allenby, who eventually finished third. "I had that tournament right in the bag and I let that one go. I knew that was probably the last tournament my mom would see me play. But when I walked off the next tee after hitting it straight down the middle of the fairway, I walked to where my mom was, gave her a hug, and she said to me, 'It doesn't matter what you do, just do your best. And whether it's good or bad, all you can do is your best.'"

Allenby did everything but win last year. He enjoyed his finest season on the PGA TOUR, losing in a playoff at the Stanford St. Jude Championship and finishing runner-up at the Turning Stone Resort Championship. Those second-place finishes were part of nine top-10s that helped him earn a career-best $3.6 million while finishing 11th on the money list.

"I tried so hard to try to win for her while she was alive, and just forced it a little bit," said Allenby, who won the last of his four PGA TOUR titles in 2001.

Allenby continued to get in his own way, to use athlete parlance, at last month's Northern Trust Open at Riviera Country Club, where he won a six-way playoff in 2001, Allenby was surprised to see he was tied for the lead midway through the third round at Riviera.

"I'm like, 'Geez, I'm leading the tournament,'" said Allenby, who finished 17th. "I lost a bit of concentration there once I did get to the lead. But that's all part of it and that's all part of learning to accept and deal with the situation that is there."

Allenby believes he'll better be able to handle the pressure this week if he has a chance to win on Sunday. And not just because he has a history of playing well at PGA National (he tied for fourth last year and tied for fifth in 2007).

"I know I've tried to force it before, so I've sort of said to myself that it is what it is. Your mom's your mom," he said. "The more patient I am, the closer I'll get to winning."

Just as importantly, Allenby lives just 10 minutes from PGA National at Admiral's Cove, so he has plenty of family and friends to support him and keep his spirits up. That came in handy during Thursday's round that lasted 5 ½ hours.

"I tried to focus away from any thoughts about my mom," he said. "I had a lot of good friends out there and I was able to have a chat with them (during the delays). I'm OK when I'm around family and friends, but if I'm out on my own, that makes it a little bit tough at the moment because it's still a little bit new."

Allenby's closest friends couldn't believe he was even playing tournament golf late last year when his mother's condition was diagnosed as terminal. But Allenby has never run away from the disease -- he has helped raise more than $10.5 million for cancer research in his native Australia.

"The fact he played so extraordinarily well for the last three months is testament to what a champion he is," close friend Peter Crone told the Sydney Morning Herald. "There's so many people who wouldn't be out there playing given the same circumstances. I give him credit for sustaining such a high level of performance despite what was happening at home."

Allenby's father, Don, will come to the U.S. in several weeks and spend three months here with his son. No doubt they will spend plenty of time talking about Sylvia.

"She just had a lot of belief in my ability with anything that I did, but with golf, my mom and dad were just so supportive, but never pushed me once, not once," Allenby said. "I believed that I could be a great player in golf and I could be a winner, and, it's all because my mom and dad believed in me and just gave me the confidence in my ability."