Positive spin for Allenby after coming up short at Waialae

Honolulu: Australian Robert Allenby chose to focus on the positives after falling agonisingly short of winning his first PGA Tour title in nine years at the Sony Open on Sunday.

The 38-year-old had to settle for second place, a shot behind American playing partner Ryan Palmer, after narrowly missing a 10-foot birdie putt on the 72nd hole.Allenby, who nursed a painful foot all week at Waialae Country Club, had duelled with Palmer throughout the final round on the way to a three-under-par 67 and a 14-under total of 266. "I had a couple of chances out there," Allenby told reporters after covering the back nine in a flawless two-under 33. "It`s so easy to look back and say: `I could have made that, I could have made that`." "At the end of the day, I needed to make a birdie at the last. I hit it exactly where I aimed and I missed. I hit a solid putt," the four-times PGA Tour winner said of his attempt, which curled away from the left edge of the cup. "We read probably half the cup outside right. But that`s golf. Sometimes they go in." "The last two tournaments prior to this event, I`ve had a lot (of putts) that have gone in for me. If that`s the worse thing that`s going to happen to me, I`m going to be pretty good."Allenby, who had shared the overnight lead with Palmer at 11 under, had been seeking his first victory on the highly competitive US circuit since the 2001 Pennsylvania Classic. Coming into the week, he was the hottest player in the game having won his two previous events but he suffered an unexpected setback on Monday when he twisted his right ankle while walking with his wife. "I was playing really well coming into here and I knew my swing was really good," said Allenby, who won the Australian PGA championship and the Sun City Challenge in South Africa in successive weeks last month. "I could hit any shot I wanted to, even under pressure, and that`s why I persevered. I knew deep down under the ankle I was playing well. Today I hit a lot of good quality shots." "The ankle, it is what it is and I made the most of it. If I can finish second with a half-broken ankle, that`s pretty good." Allenby, long regarded as one of the best ball-strikers in the game, plans to take next week off before returning to the PGA Tour for the Jan. 28-31 San Diego Open. "I`m going home for a week and obviously I will have a lot of work done on my ankle, trying to get it stronger and stabilise it," the world number 20 said. "I`m happy with second. It`s a great way to start the year. I think this is the start of a really, really big year for me." Bureau Report