Golf fans stunned as out of prison Angel Cabrera nearly beats PGA Tour wannabes
Not long out of prison, Angel Cabrera very nearly beats rising PGA Tour stars at South Open in Argentina.
Angel Cabrera may have only just recently come out of prison but the two-time major champion has returned to the fairways like he has never been away from the game.
Cabrera, 54, was released from prison on 4 August 2023 after he spent more than two years in custody for domestic violence.
The Argentinian, nicknamed El Pato (The Duck), was convicted of offences relating to two former girlfriends.
After being released, he spoke of his dream of returning to the PGA Tour Champions.
That dream is about to come true next month, and on current evidence, Cabrera might even get back in the winners circle.
In an event that consisted of former and current Korn Ferry Tour (the PGA Tour's lower tier) members, Cabrera performed admirably on home turf with a third place finish at the South Open over the weekend.
Cabrera finished the tournament on 8-under par and three strokes out of the playoff contested between eventual winner Julian Etulain and Marcus Montenegro.
On Saturday, Cabrera shot a 66 and at one stage during the round found himself in the lead at the par-70 Mar del Plata Golf Club.
Cabrera finishes 3rd after Julian Etulain finishes a final round 61 to win by 3. pic.twitter.com/f1QrPMXYbm
— Monday Q Info (@acaseofthegolf1) January 28, 2024
A number of golf fans took to social media to comment on Cabrera's performance, with some believing he must have been hitting balls in his jail cell.
"Pretty good for a guy who hasn't played golf in three years," commented one X user.
Another tweeted: "Looks like Angel may have had a Trackman and a net in his prison cell."
Cabrera will next tee it up at the Hassan II Trophy on the PGA Tour Champions from 22-24 February at Royal Golf Dar Es Salam in Morocco.
According to ESPN, he has also entered a Korn Ferry Tour event the following week.
But the big one Cabrera has his eye on is The Masters, a tournament he is eligible to compete in having won at Augusta National in 2009.
The only issue is that Cabrera has been denied entry to the U.S. after serving more than 30 months in prison for domestic violence offences.
However, he has been given a lifeline by Augusta chairman Fred Ridley.
Cabrera is able to compete in Morocco next month as he does not require a visa there.
The 2007 US Open champion is now married and is a father to a little boy.
When he was released last August he vowed to make his return to competitive golf.
Cabrera told Golf Digest last month:
Cabrera's return to the game comes at a time when former PGA Tour star Anthony Kim has been linked with a sensational return to the sport.
You can read about that here.
Will Angel Cabrera get to play in The Masters? What have you made of his comeback so far? Share your thoughts and comments over on the GolfMagic social media channels.
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