I'll have what he's having. Make it a double of whatever that magic potion is that's allowing Robert Allenby to walk nearly 5 miles each day this week on a sprained right ankle ... in between proficient whacks of golf balls good enough to put him atop the Sony Open leaderboard heading into today's final round.

Yesterday he toured Waialae in 67 strokes for the second day in a row, ending the day in a tie with Ryan Palmer only because Palmer birdied 18, which Allenby parred.

He turned the ankle Monday, out strolling with his wife. It's still black and blue, and it still hurts like heck if he moves the wrong way.

“;If I roll it now, it's done, I'm out,”; Allenby said after yesterday's round. “;Even in bed I'm strapping it up.”;

Somehow, he's managed to alter things without messing it up (his swing and his ankle). He says he can't worry about developing bad habits that he'll have to undo before his next tourney. He's got one to try to win today.

After a 5 under for Thursday's first round, he said it's frustrating, but maybe the injury is helping him play better golf—because he's playing conservatively (”;managing the course”;). I think maybe he's just a tough SOB who's good at managing the pain.

If ankle sprains are this good for your game, look for pros to start walking on curbs and playing pickup basketball in slippers.

But who really wants to go through a three-layer tape job twice a day?

And that magic potion, the painkiller? On second thought, I'll pass. It's called Celebrex, and it's also prescribed for menstrual cramps and arthritis. Side effects may include abdominal pain, diarrhea, headache, indigestion, nausea, respiratory infection, sinus inflammation ... and apparently, great rounds of golf.

“;At least it's legal,”; Allenby quipped.

If you've had this kind of injury, you know you're supposed to elevate your ankle. But generally, it doesn't elevate your game.

Allenby's such a trooper he didn't beg out of Wednesday's pro-am. He did admit it was useful for him to gauge what he could and couldn't do on the ankle.

USUALLY WHEN there's a great sports performance by somebody playing hurt, there's a great trainer behind it. Allenby has credited his “;physio”; all week—that would be Tour physiologist Jeff Kendra.

Following Allenby yesterday, I noticed barely a wince, barely a limp. But you could see he was walking very carefully, and swinging with less movement in his lower body than usual. Every now and then you could detect a bit of discomfort.

Kendra confirmed the severity of Allenby's injury.

“;It's bad enough to make your life miserable for a few days,”; Kendra says. “;It happens, but not often. I see maybe one or two a year.”;

Generally, though, not by guys poised to win a tournament.

“;Robert's a great golfer, so I'm not surprised he's playing well,”; Kendra said. “;If it was his left ankle it would pose a much more significant problem.”;

Prior to his six years with the PGA, Kendra patched up college hockey players. So he knows ankles ... and cut lips, broken noses and black eyes, too.

If Tiger Woods can win the U.S. Open with a wrenched knee, maybe Robert Allenby can take the Sony Open with his sprained ankle. But there's Palmer right there with him, and there's Davis Love III, Steve Stricker and defending champion Zach Johnson three strokes back.

Still—barring a misstep—don't count him out.

Reach Star-Bulletin sports columnist Dave Reardon at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address), his “;Quick Reads”; blog at starbulletin.com, and twitter.com/davereardon.