Davis robbed at gunpoint

Aussie veteran pistol-whipped in restaurant

Bob Warters's picture
Wed, 12 Mar 2003
Davis robbed at gunpoint
While golfers playing on the European Tour in Qatar this week are at the centre of controversy over competing on the edge of a Middle East war zone, Aussie golfer Rodger Davis is still recovering after being attacked by robbers in a Mexico City restaurant.

He reckons he’s lucky to be alive after being pistol-whipped for refusing to give up his expensive watch.

Davis, a former winner of the 1986 Volvo PGA at Wentworth, who now plays on the US Seniors Champions Tour, says he has hardly slept since the traumatic stick-up while dining with fellow Tour players and caddies after the first round of a tournament last Friday.

He was seated near the door when two men approached their table and demanded their watches. Initially he refused but when he saw one of them pointing a 9mm pistol at fellow player Butch Sheehan's head, he agreed.

"A second later the other guy clipped me over the head, with the butt of the gun. Then he cocked the gun and clicked it back and forward. I thought I was done. I unclipped my Rolex and flung it in the air, ducked and put my hands over my head."

The robbers fled with five other watches from diners.

"It all happened so quickly," said Davis, origjnally famed for his plus two trousers and monogrammed socks. "They were only at our table for a few seconds. But I’ve hardly slept since and I can still hear the click of the gun."

Though the criminals are still at large, two security guards and three waiters are in jail. The restaurant has been closed and the owner has been deported back to Argentina.

Davis was going to pull out of this week's Senior tournament in Los Angeles and return to Australia but received such warm support from his colleagues that he decided to play the next two events as scheduled.