By Frank Pingue
AUGUSTA, Georgia (Reuters) – Former Masters champion Angel Cabrera said on Tuesday he regrets the actions that led to him serving a 30-month prison sentence for domestic abuse and is thankful to be competing at Augusta National this week for the first time since his incarceration.
The 55-year-old Argentine, who having won the Masters has a lifetime exemption into the major, is eager to make the most of his second chance.
“Life has given me another opportunity, I got to take advantage of that and I want to do the right things in this second opportunity,” said Cabrera.
“There was a stage in my life of five years, four, five years, that they weren’t the right things I should have done. Before that I was okay, so I just have to keep doing what I know I can do right.”
Cabrera, who won the 2009 Masters in a playoff to become the first South American to triumph in the tournament, was imprisoned for threats and harassment against two of his ex-girlfriends. He was released in August 2023.
“Obviously I regret things that happened and you learn from them, but at the same time those are in the past and we have to look forward to what’s coming,” said Cabrera.
After getting in some practice at chilly Augusta National on Tuesday, Cabrera spoke about the appreciation he had for being back at the Masters and the reception he received.
“I’m very grateful and obviously the people of the golf world are very great with me and I just appreciated the way they treated me,” said Cabrera.
When asked what he would say to those who felt he did not belong in the field Cabrera said: “I respect their opinion” and later added “I won the Masters, why not?”
The Argentine missed the cut in his last Masters appearance in 2019, skipped the next two during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic and was unable to play last year due to visa issues.
The twice major champion arrived at the Masters fresh off his first triumph on the PGA Champions Tour last week, which put him back in the winner’s circle for the first time since being released from prison.
Despite that victory, Cabrera is tempering his expectations as he gets set to take on the game’s top players on a 7,555-yard course that presents challenges at every turn.
“It’s obviously playing longer, I don’t have that distance that I used to have, but you never know, it’s the Masters, anything can happen,” said Cabrera.
(Reporting by Frank Pingue in Augusta, Georgia; Editing by Ken Ferris)
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