Former Masters champion set for controversial Augusta return after prison release

By , Golf writer and wannabe darts player.

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Angel Cabrera has a lifetime exemption to the Masters after winning the Green Jacket in 2009.

Angel Cabrera will tee up at this year’s Masters after serving almost three years in jail for domestic violence charges.

For the first time since he was released from prison, Angel Cabrera is set to tee it up at the Masters. 

The Argentine won the Green Jacket in 2009, making him eligible to appear in the first men’s major of the year for as long as he chooses to compete, but he hasn’t taken up his invitation since 2019.

Cabrera missed the 2020 and 2021 editions because of Covid-19 before spending two and a half years behind bars after being found guilty of assaulting two former partners.

However, the 54-year-old returned to golf following his release and is listed among the 92 invitees for this April’s showdown on the official Masters website, with Augusta National chairman Fred Ridley looking forward to having him back at the famous venue.

“Angel certainly is one of our great champions,” Ridley, speaking at an amateur event in Panama earlier this year, said. “As we all know, he has been unable to participate in the Masters the last couple of years due to legal issues.”

Ridley added: “We certainly wish him the best of luck with that, and we’ll definitely welcome him back if he’s able to straighten out those legal issues.”

Cabrera won the first of his two major titles after coming through a brutal Oakmont examination to lift the 2007 US Open.

He then followed that up by beating Kenny Perry and Chad Campbell in a play-off in 2009 to become the first and only South American Masters champion in history.

Four years later, he came close at Augusta National once again, this time losing in a play-off to Adam Scott.

During his sentence, Cabrera told local press his time in prison had been good for him, while he expressed remorse for the “serious mistakes” he made in an interview with Golf Digest last year.

The 2025 Masters runs from April 10-13 as Scottie Scheffler bids to defend his title.

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