Ángel Cabrera (; born 12 September 1969) is an

Argentine Argentines (mistakenly translated Argentineans in the past; in Spanish (masculine) or (feminine)) are people identified with the country of Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Argentines, ...

professional golfer A professional golfer is somebody who receives payments or financial rewards in the sport of golf that are directly related to their skill or reputation. A person who earns money by teaching or playing golf is traditionally considered a "golf p ...

who has played on both the

European Tour The European Tour (currently known as the DP World Tour for sponsorship reasons), legally the PGA European Tour is the leading men's professional golf tour in Europe. The organisation also operates the European Senior Tour (for players aged fi ...

and

PGA Tour The PGA Tour (stylized in all capital letters as PGA TOUR by its officials) is the organizer of professional golf tours in the United States and North America. It organizes most of the events on the flagship annual series of tournaments also ...

. He is known affectionately as ''"El Pato"'' in Spanish ''("The

Duck Duck is the common name for numerous species of waterfowl in the family Anatidae. Ducks are generally smaller and shorter-necked than swans and geese, which are members of the same family. Divided among several subfamilies, they are a form ...

")'' for his waddling gait. He is a two-time major champion, with wins at the U.S. Open in

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple Inc., Apple's first iPhone (1st generation), iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakis ...

and the Masters in

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; Protests ...

; he was the first (and still only as of 2021) Argentine and South American to win either. He also lost in a sudden death playoff at the Masters in

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fa ...

Background and personal life

Born in

Córdoba, Argentina Córdoba () is a city in central Argentina, in the foothills of the Sierras Chicas on the Suquía River, about northwest of Buenos Aires. It is the capital of Córdoba Province and the second most populous city in Argentina after Buenos ...

, Cabrera's father, Miguel, was a handyman, and his mother worked as a maid. He was three or four when his parents split up and was left in the care of his paternal grandmother. Cabrera stayed with her until he was 16, when he moved in a few feet away, to the house of Silvia, twelve years his senior, and a mother of four boys. They had a son, Federico, followed by another, Ángel. When Cabrera was 10, he became a caddy at the Córdoba Country Club, which he says almost became his home. He learned golf playing against other caddies for money. His fierce determination and powerful swing soon caught the eye of members, one of whom, Juan Cruz Molina, a local real estate magnate, bought him his first set of clubs when he was 16. With his stocky figure and habit of smoking at every hole, Cabrera cut a distinctive figure on the course. He is also acknowledged as having one of the biggest swings in the game. His son Federico became a professional golfer in 2008 and entered the

qualifying school In professional golf, the term qualifying school is used for the annual qualifying tournaments for leading golf tours such as the U.S.-based PGA and LPGA Tours and the European Tour. A fixed number of players in the event win membership of the ...

in 2011, but was eliminated in the second stage. His other son, Ángel, became a professional in 2012 and joined the Canadian Tour. The elder Ángel and his sons also compete on

PGA Tour Latinoamérica PGA Tour Latinoamérica is a third level professional golf tour formed in 2012 and operated by the PGA Tour. It was formed in concert with the now defunct Tour de las Américas. Executives from the Tour de las Américas became employees of the ne ...

. In January 2021, Cabrera was arrested in

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...

as a result of

Interpol The International Criminal Police Organization (ICPO; french: link=no, Organisation internationale de police criminelle), commonly known as Interpol ( , ), is an international organization that facilitates worldwide police cooperation and cr ...

issuing a red notice due to him having left Argentina without authorization following the start of a trial where he was facing a number of criminal charges, including assault, theft and illegal intimidation. He remained in a Brazilian prison until June 2021, when his extradition to Argentina was completed. In July 2021, he was convicted and sentenced to two years in prison. In November 2022, he was convicted of a second assault and sentenced to an additional two years and four months in prison.

Professional career

Early career

Cabrera turned professional at age twenty and his first three visits to the European Tour Qualifying School were unsuccessful. On his fourth trip in 1995, made with Molina's financial assistance, he qualified for membership of the European Tour in

1996 File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 800, causing the plane to crash and killing everyone o ...

. Cabrera retained his card comfortably in his first three seasons and improved substantially to tenth on the Order of Merit in

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shoot ...

. He has since finished in the top 15 of the Order of Merit on seven occasions, with a best placing of fifth in

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; " Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discover ...

European Tour wins

Cabrera's first European Tour win was the 2001

Argentine Open The Argentine Open or Abierto de la República or Abierto de Argentina is one of the oldest national golf open championships. First played in 1905, when it was called the Open Championship of the River Plate, it has featured numerous notable winn ...

, which was sanctioned by the European Tour on a one-time basis that year. In 2005, he won the BMW Championship, the most prestigious event on the European Tour outside the majors and the World Golf Championships. However, it was only his third European Tour win, a tally which was perhaps disappointing given his consistent form on the tour. At that point, Cabrera had also won seven non-European Tour events in Latin America, where the standard of play is much lower than on the European Tour. Cabrera featured a highest of 9th in the

Official World Golf Ranking The Official World Golf Ranking is a system for rating the performance level of professional golfers. It was started in 1986. The rankings are based on a player's position in individual tournaments (i.e. not pairs or team events) over a "rolli ...

on 2 October 2005. He was the top-ranked Latin American player for a number of years before the emerging pair of

Andrés Romero Andrés Fabián Romero (born 8 May 1981) is an Argentine professional golfer who plays on both the PGA Tour and European Tour. Career Romero was born in Tucumán. He won his European Tour card by finishing 14th on the Challenge Tour rankings i ...

and

Camilo Villegas Camilo Villegas (; born 7 January 1982) is a Colombian professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour. Early years Villegas was born in Medellín, Colombia, and took up golf as a child. After several different National Junior Championships in ...

won PGA Tour tournaments in 2008. Cabrera earned enough money ( $623,504) on the

in 2006 playing as a non-member to earn a tour card for

. He has played almost full-time in 2007,

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

, and

. In 2009, Cabrera announced partnership with Gary Player Design to collaborate on a golf course design business with a focus in Latin America. This coincides with golf, the Olympics and Brazil coming together in 2016.

2007 U.S. Open win

Cabrera won his first major championship at the 2007 U.S. Open at Oakmont near

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

. He finished the tournament at 5-over, topping runners-up

Tiger Woods Eldrick Tont "Tiger" Woods (born December 30, 1975) is an American professional golfer. He is tied for first in PGA Tour wins, ranks second in men's major championships, and holds numerous golf records. * * * Woods is widely regarded as ...

and

Jim Furyk James Michael Furyk (born May 12, 1970) is an American professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour and the PGA Tour Champions. In 2010, he was the FedEx Cup champion and PGA Tour Player of the Year. He has won one major championship, the 200 ...

by one stroke. Cabrera entered the third round as the leader at even par, after finishing the first round at 1-under, and shooting 1-over on the second day. He struggled during the third round, finishing 6 strokes over par, putting him 4 strokes behind Aaron Baddeley and two behind Woods. Cabrera rebounded and came back strong on the last day. He birdied one of the longest par-3 holes in major championship history when he sunk a putt at the 8th hole, which played at a lengthy on Sunday. Cabrera finished one stroke under par, bringing him down to 5-over (285) for the championship, just enough to secure his first career major victory. At a post-round interview Cabrera said "Well, there are some players that have psychologists, some have sportologists, I smoke." Cabrera became the first

player to win the U.S. Open and the second to win a major, joining

Roberto De Vicenzo Roberto De Vicenzo (14 April 1923 – 1 June 2017) was a professional golfer from Argentina. He won a record 229 professional tournaments worldwide during his career, including seven on the PGA Tour and most famously the 1967 Open Championship. ...

, who won the

British Open The Open Championship, often referred to as The Open or the British Open, is the oldest golf tournament in the world, and one of the most prestigious. Founded in 1860, it was originally held annually at Prestwick Golf Club in Scotland. Later ...

1967 Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 5 ** Spain and Romania sign an agreement in Paris, establishing full consular and ...

at Royal Liverpool (

Hoylake Hoylake is a seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside, England. It is at the north west of the Wirral Peninsula, near West Kirby and where the River Dee meets the Irish Sea. Historically part of Cheshire, the Domes ...

). Cabrera received the 2007 '' Olimpia de Oro'' ("Golden Olympia") as Argentina's sportsperson of the year.

2009 Masters win

Cabrera won the

Masters Tournament The Masters Tournament (usually referred to as simply The Masters, or the U.S. Masters outside North America) is one of the four major championships in professional golf. Scheduled for the first full week of April, the Masters is the first ma ...

in a three-way sudden-death playoff, seeing off

Chad Campbell David Chad Campbell (born May 31, 1974) is an American professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour, where he has won four times. He also notably finished as a runner-up at the 2009 Masters, after losing in a sudden-death playoff. Early years ...

after the first playoff hole, and defeating Kenny Perry on the second. On the first playoff hole, the 18th, Cabrera missed right of the fairway, leaving his ball

stymie A stymie is an obsolete rule in the sport of golf. It legislated for the situation where a player's ball lay behind or blocked by another player's ball; the blocked player was not afforded relief. In the modern game, the blocking ball is temporar ...

d directly behind a tree. On his second shot, he hit a shot right of the tree that would have sent the golf ball onto the 10th hole fairway, but ended up hitting another tree about ahead, bouncing left and settling in the center of the 18th fairway. He and Perry both got up-and-down for par, while Campbell missed his par putt and was eliminated. On the second playoff hole, the 10th, Cabrera made par to defeat Perry, becoming the first Argentine to win the Masters. He was the lowest-ranked golfer to win the Masters, having been ranked 69th before the tournament.

2011

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrates ...

, Cabrera was in the mix to win a second Green Jacket at Augusta when he was in the final pairing on Sunday, four strokes behind leader

Rory McIlroy Rory Daniel McIlroy (born 4 May 1989) is a professional golfer from Northern Ireland who is a member of both the European and PGA Tours. He is the current world number one in the Official World Golf Ranking, and has spent over 100 weeks in ...

. Cabrera was tied for the lead at one point during the afternoon, but bogeys on 12 and 16 derailed his chances. He posted a final round 71 which placed him in sole seventh, five strokes behind the South African

Charl Schwartzel Charl Adriaan Schwartzel ( ; born 31 August 1984) is a South African professional golfer who currently plays in the LIV Golf Invitational Series and has previously played on the PGA Tour, European Tour and the Sunshine Tour. He has won one maj ...

. This was however Cabrera's best finish in a major tournament since his win back in 2009. He missed the cut in the years other three major championships and failed to qualify for the season ending FedEx Cup playoffs, finishing 154th in the standings. His best finish of the season was a T6 in the fall season at the

McGladrey Classic The RSM Classic is a golf tournament on the PGA Tour, played in the autumn in Georgia. It debuted in October 2010 on St. Simons Island, Georgia at the Sea Island Golf Club. The tournament was known as the McGladrey Classic until 2015, when the ti ...

2013

At the Masters in

, Cabrera was again in the final pairing on Sunday. After taking a two shot lead on the front nine, Cabrera proceeded to lose the lead and after failing to birdie the par-5 15th and was two shots behind leader

Jason Day Jason Day (born 12 November 1987) is an Australian professional golfer, PGA Tour member and winner of the 2015 PGA Championship. He is a former world number one in the World Golf Ranking, having first achieved the ranking in September 2015. ...

. Day then bogeyed two holes in succession and when Cabrera made a 20-foot putt for birdie at the 16th he tied Adam Scott and Day briefly for the lead. As Cabrera stood on the 18th fairway, up ahead on the green and playing in the penultimate group, Scott holed a birdie putt to take the lead. Cabrera hit a 7-iron to and knocked in the putt to force a playoff. On the first playoff hole, Scott's second shot was out, but rolled back off the front of the green. Cabrera's second shot also came up short, rolling back off the green and coming to rest behind Scott's ball. Cabrera's chip just slid by the hole. Both players then made par sending them onto the 10th for the second playoff hole. Scott and Cabrera hit their tee shots in the fairway and matched each other with approach shots which landed on the green giving both birdie chances, Cabrera with uphill and Scott a downhill right to left 12 footer. Cabrera's putt was a turn away from dropping in, giving Scott a chance to win with his putt. Scott made the putt defeating Cabrera and bringing Australia their first ever green jacket. Although Cabrera was fully exempt on the PGA Tour, he occasionally competed in Argentinian events on

, a developmental tour in Latin America whose 2013 members included former PGA Tour winners Carlos Franco and

Ted Purdy Theodore Townsend Purdy (born August 15, 1973) is an American professional golfer. He has won one PGA Tour tournament, the 2005 EDS Byron Nelson Championship. He has also won on the Nationwide Tour and the Asian Tour. Early life Purdy was bo ...

. Cabrera won the 2012

Visa Open de Argentina The Argentine Open or Abierto de la República or Abierto de Argentina is one of the oldest national golf open championships. First played in 1905, when it was called the Open Championship of the River Plate, it has featured numerous notable winn ...

and the 2013 Abierto del Centro.

2014

Cabrera won the

Greenbrier Classic The Greenbrier Classic was a golf tournament on the PGA Tour, held from 2010 to 2019 at The Old White at The Greenbrier in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia. For its final two editions, the tournament was titled A Military Tribute at the Gree ...

West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the ...

on 6 July

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wa ...

, his first PGA Tour victory since claiming the green jacket in

. It was his third win in the United States, but his first non-major win on the PGA Tour. Cabrera shot a six-under-par 64 on both Saturday and Sunday to secure the title, winning $1.17 million

2015

Cabrera finished in the top-25 only twice and wound up 170th on the PGA Tour's money list.

Team golf career

Cabrera was a member of the international squad in the

Presidents Cup The Presidents Cup is a series of men's golf matches between a team representing the United States and an International Team representing the rest of the world minus Europe. Europe competes against the United States in a similar but considerably ...

, and

Professional wins (53)

PGA Tour wins (3)

PGA Tour playoff record (1–1)

European Tour wins (5)

¹Co-sanctioned by the

Argentine Tour The TPG Tour (Tour de Profesionales de Golf) is the principal professional golf tour in Argentina. The tour was formed in 2007, following disputes within the PGA of Argentina, who had operated the main professional tour in the country in previous ...

European Tour playoff record (1–2)

Asian Tour wins (1)

PGA Tour Latinoamérica wins (2)

Tour de las Américas wins (7)

*1999 Argentine Masters *2001 Argentine Masters *2002

*2005 Argentine Masters¹ *2006

Center Open The Center Open, or Abierto del Centro, is one of the major regional open golf tournaments in Argentina. Founded in 1927, it has always been held at the Córdoba Golf Club in Córdoba. In 2001, Ángel Cabrera set the course record of 60 in the fi ...

¹ *

¹, Argentine Masters ¹Co-sanctioned by the

PGA Tour Latinoamérica Developmental Series wins (1)

Argentine Tour wins (24)

*1991 San Diego Grand Prix *1992 Norpatagonico Open *1994 Villa Gessel Grand Prix,

South Open The South Open, or Abierto del Sur, is one of the major regional open golf tournaments in Argentina, and is also one of the oldest, having been inaugurated 1918. It has always been held at the Mar del Plata Golf Club in Mar del Plata, Buenos Aires ...

, Nautico Hacoaj Grand Prix *1995

Abierto del Litoral The Coast Open, or Abierto del Litoral, is a golf tournament played in Argentina. Founded in 1932 as the Torneo de Profesionales (Professional Tournament), a name only used for the first two editions, it has always been played at the Rosario Gol ...

*1996

, Santiago del Estero Open *1997

*1998 Argentine PGA Championship *2000

, Bariloche Match Play, Desafio de Maestros *2001

¹ *2002 Argentine PGA Championship *

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight ...

North Open The North Open, or Abierto del Norte, was one of the major regional golf tournaments in Argentina. First held in 1962, it was always held at the Jockey Club, in San Miguel de Tucumán, Tucumán, the hometown of golfers César Monasterio and Andrés ...

, Argentine Masters² *

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro votes to declare independence from Serbia; The 2006 ...

² *

² ¹Co-sanctioned by the

²Co-sanctioned by the

Tour de las Américas The Tour de las Américas (TLA) was the principal men's professional golf tour throughout Latin America and the Caribbean from 2000 through to 2012 when it was superseded by PGA Tour Latinoamérica. History Top level tournament golf in Latin Ame ...

Cordoba Tour wins (6)

*2001 (2) Ascochingas Tournament, La Cumbre Tournament *2002 (2) Rio Cuarto Tournament, Las Delicias Tournament *2008 (1) Cordoba PGA Championship *2009 (1) Angel Cabrera Tour 2nd Tournament

Other wins (10)

*1995 (2) Paraguay Open, El Rodeo Open (Colombia) *1996 (2) Volvo Masters of Latin America (Brazil), Viña del Mar Open (Chile) *1998 (1) Brazil Open *1999 (1) Brazil Open *2007 (1)

PGA Grand Slam of Golf PGA is an acronym or initialism that may stand for: Aviation * IATA code for Page Municipal Airport, Coconino County, Arizona * ICAO designator for Portugália, regional airline based in Lisbon, Portugal * Abbreviation for Prince George Airpor ...

*2009 (1) Gary Player Invitational (with

Tony Johnstone Anthony Alastair Johnstone (born 2 May 1956) is a Zimbabwean professional golfer. Early life Johnstone was born in Bulawayo, Rhodesia. He attended Christian Brothers College. Professional career In 1979, Johnstone turned professional and has ...

) *2012 (1) Euromayor Cabrera Classic (TPG) *2017 (1) PNC Father-Son Challenge (with Angel Jr)

Major championships

Wins (2)

¹Defeated Kenny Perry and Chad Campbell in a sudden-death playoff: Cabrera (4-4), Perry (4-5) and Campbell (5).

Results timeline

WD = withdrew
CUT = missed the half way cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place.

Summary

*Most consecutive cuts made – 7 (2008 PGA – 2010 U.S. Open) *Longest streak of top-10s – 2 (2001 Masters – 2001 U.S. Open)

Results in The Players Championship

CUT = missed the half-way cut
WD = withdrew
"T" indicates a tie for a place.

Results in World Golf Championships

¹Cancelled due to

9/11 The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commerci ...

QF, R16, R32, R64 = Round in which player lost in match play
"T" = tied
NT = No tournament
Note that the HSBC Champions did not become a WGC event until 2009.

Results in senior major championships

"T" indicates a tie for a place
NT = No tournament due to

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

Team appearances

Alfred Dunhill Cup The Alfred Dunhill Cup was a team golf tournament which ran from 1985 to 2000, sponsored by Alfred Dunhill Ltd. It was for three-man teams of professional golfers, one team representing each country, and was promoted as the "World Team Championshi ...

(representing Argentina):

1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; '' Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of ...

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently s ...

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from S ...

* World Cup (representing Argentina):

2001 The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a multi-national coalition in an invasion of Afghanist ...

2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...

2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A ...

(International Team):

References

External links

* * * *
Angel Cabrera fought his way from the barrio to the U.S. Open
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cabrera, Angel Argentine male golfers European Tour golfers PGA Tour golfers Winners of men's major golf championships Sportspeople from Córdoba Province, Argentina People convicted of assault People convicted of theft 1969 births Living people