Cabrera set to return to Champs, world-ranked play; Masters still up in air
Angel Cabrera has already been cleared to play in PGA Tour-sanctioned events. He returned to competitive golf late last year in his native Argentina, and he will make his PGA Tour Champions return this week in Morocco.
But that’s not all: The 54-year-old Argentine and two-time major champion also is set to compete again in his first world-ranked event in nearly five years.
Cabrera, who was released from an Argentina prison last August after serving 30 months for gender violence against two former partners, has been extended a sponsor exemption into the Korn Ferry Tour’s 117 Visa Argentina Open, according to multiple reports and confirmed by GolfChannel.com. Cabrera’s invite was allotted by the Argentina Golf Association, and he will have a chance to compete for an Open Championship exemption, which is awarded to the winner.
The Feb. 29-March 3 tournament at Olivos Golf Club in Buenos Aires will mark Cabrera’s first world-ranked appearance since the 2019 Ellie Mae Classic on the KFT. He last played on the PGA Tour Champions in 2020, though he’s in the field for this week’s Trophee Hassan II in Rabat, Morocco, which begins Friday.
Per a Golf Digest report, Cabrera had received a letter from the PGA Tour in December notifying him that his suspension had ended, though “failure to comply with the terms of your release from prison or any additional information regarding your legal situation in Argentina may result in the immediate reinstatement of your suspension.”
While in prison, Cabrera went back to school and began treatment for alcohol addiction. His current partner, Yamila Alvarez, welcomed their son in December 2022, and Cabrera and Alvarez wed last October.
“I refused to listen to anyone and did what I wanted, how I wanted and when I wanted,” Cabrera told Golf Digest last year. “That was wrong. I ask Micaela for forgiveness. I ask Celia for forgiveness. They had the bad luck of being with me when I was at my worst. I wasn’t the devil, but I did bad things. I am deeply embarrassed because I disappointed the people closest to me — and everyone who loves me through golf.
“Golf gave me everything, and I know I will never be able to repay the debt I owe this sport.”
Cabrera competed in the Coast Open, a popular tournament in Argentina, and tied for 10th last December. He also placed third at the South Open, another mini-tour event in Argentina, last month.
He also is reportedly still trying to obtain a travel visa to play tournaments in the U.S. after recently being denied one.
Augusta National Golf Club chairman Fred Ridley commented to reporters at the Latin America Amateur on Cabrera’s eligiblity to play in this year’s Masters Tournament. Cabrera won the 2009 Masters, two years after his first major victory, at the 2007 U.S. Open.
“Presently we have been in constant contact with Angel’s representatives,” Ridley said in Panama. “… He doesn’t have a visa, and I know that that process is being worked through. 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.”