Robert Allenby’s former caddie says he doesn’t believe the Australian golfer was bashed and kidnapped in Hawaii earlier this year.

Allenby said he was drugged, kidnapped, robbed and beaten following a night out in Honolulu in January, in a mysterious misadventure the 44-year-old says he doesn’t remember. There is still confusion over how the night unfolded after a number of witnesses gave conflicting accounts.

But Allenby’s former caddie Mick Middlemo, with whom he fell out spectacularly following a verbal confrontation during the opening round of the Canadian Open, said he had protected the golfer and publicly supported his story about the incident because he was asked to.

“Do I think he got mugged and bashed and absolutely robbed? No I don’t,” Middlemo told News Corp Australia. “That’s the story I told because that’s the story he told me to tell because I wasn’t there.

“Do I think he just fell over and cracked his head? Honestly I do. I think he fell over and someone picked up his wallet and had a great time with his credit card.”

Middlemo took a further swipe at Allenby, describing him as the golfing equivalent of controversial tennis star Bernard Tomic, saying he gives Australians a bad name. “The way he talks to people on the golf course is mind-boggling. To marshals, volunteers,” he said.

Middlemo’s comments come only days after he was sacked by Allenby, when he left the golfer’s bag to walk off following a blazing row at Glen Abbey in Ontario.

Allenby allegedly called his fellow Australian “a fat cunt” several times and threatened to have him “banned for life” from the PGA Tour. But Allenby said he sacked Middlemo after the caddie started behaving in a threatening manner and “just lost the plot”.