"Life as Robert Allenby's caddie: 'It can be hell'"

A nice piece of reporting and writing by USA Today's Josh Peter, who offers a well-balanced take on Robert Allenby. The January victim of some sort of incident that led to facial bleeding and bruising, speaks in depth about a year that has him seeing a psychiatrist, firing another caddie to bring the 24-year veteran to his 24th career caddy, and MC'ing or WD's in 13 of 18 starts.

Peter says Allenby is known as "The Beast" among caddies and talks to nine of them for the cover story.

Many of his former caddies said Allenby repeatedly blamed them for his mistakes.

“You kind of need to accept responsibility for your own actions on the golf course,” said Robert Floyd, who is the son of Hall of Famer Raymond Floyd and caddied for Allenby for about nine months starting in 2011. “He never has and never will.”

But Allenby has not always been so difficult to work with. Damiano said Allenby was “wonderful” to caddie for when playing Q School before Allenby earned his PGA Tour card.

“He never missed a shot and he was nice as pie,” he said.

But when Damiano took a job with Allenby years later in 2008, he said he encountered “The Beast.”

“And I kept going back for the simple reason that he needed help and I could use the money,” Damiano said. “If he’s playing good, everything is fine. If he’s playing bad, everything’s wrong and your the biggest a------ that ever lived.

The USA Today includes a second story (!) on Allenby's nightmares with detail that may sound eerily familiar (his kidnapping story that has not been verified). He is seeking help and talking to a psychiatrist in advance of his October 11th wedding.