Angel Cabrera, a former major winner who spent 30 months in prison in Brazil and Argentina and last played on the PGA Tour Champions in 2020, shot under par in his last five rounds at home in Córdoba, Argentina, last week. His longtime guide and friend Charlie Epps said he is getting ready to make a comeback.
“He’s learned his lesson and wants to move on with his life. He wants to play.” Epps told Golfweek over the phone, “I think he’s in a great frame of mind for what he’s been through.” “He needs to get his visa back first, and then he can talk to the PGA Tour. I think everything will work out in the end.”
On August 4, Cabrera, 54, was freed from jail after serving more than two years for assaulting two ex-girlfriends. He was the winner of the U.S. Open in 2007 and the Masters in 2009. (Note from the editor: Read this Q&A with Charlie Epps from when Cabrera was in jail.) He was caught by the federal police in Brazil in January 2021 on an Interpol order. From 2016 to 2018, Cabrera was married to Cecilia Torres Mana. In July 2021, he was given a two-year prison term for making threats and bothering her.
In November 2022, he was also on trial for the same charges against another ex-girlfriend, Micaela Escudero. Due to Cabrera’s guilty plea, the judge combined the two sentences into one, giving him a total of three years and ten months in jail.
“Many people say prison is bad, but it’s not true; prison has helped me,” Cabrera said in court.
He spent his last seven months in Monte Cristo, a minimum-security jail 10 miles east of Córdoba, before he was freed.
Epps said that Cabrera still wants to play competitive golf. The last time he played on the Champions Tour was at the Pure Insurance Open in September 2020. He is trying to get a visa so he can go to the U.S. After that, he has to ask to be reinstated by the PGA Tour Champions, which Epps says suspended him, and find out if Augusta National will respect his lifetime offer as a former champion to the Masters in April.
A representative for the PGA Tour said this about Cabrera: “The Tour is aware that Angel Cabrera has been released on parole.” At this time, we don’t have any new information about his position as a PGA Tour member. However, the Tour may look at new and important information to decide if they need to change his status in the future.
An email from a Tour spokesman said, “The Tour does not disclose disciplinary actions it takes against its members.” This was in response to a question about his status and the length of any suspensions. The 2024 Visa Argentina Open, which Cabrera has won before, will be a part of the Korn Ferry Tour for the first time in January. It will be run by the Tour. It’s not clear if he would be able to go to his national title.
Friends of Cabrera in Córdoba who have seen him say he has lost weight, is happy, and is playing golf at El Terron Golf Club. Epps went to see Cabrera for the first time since he was given release last week. He flew to Argentina with six dozen Titleist balls, a bunch of gloves from the Acushnet Co., and the newest golf clubs that Cabrera’s old clubmaker, Ping, had made just for him.
Epps said, “He showed that his talent and drive are still there.” “I played golf with him five times at Córdoba Golf Club, where we both grew up, and he was always below par.” Right now, all he wants to do is get his life in order, practice, and come to the United States. He feels bad about himself and says, “It’s all up to him.” He said he’s ready for a second chance and knows what he needs to do. He begs God not to drink any more. He has such a strong will. He will do exactly what he sets his mind to. His walk from the 10th green, where he had made a birdie and was three shots behind, was the day he won the Masters. “What were you thinking about?” I asked him. “I told myself I only needed three birdies to get a good score,” he said.
He did that, and he beat Kenny Perry and Chad Campbell in a shootout. Instead of being praised for a career that’s close to making the Hall of Fame, Cabrera has missed what are usually the best years for a senior player. Epps said that experienced pro Jim Thorpe was able to play on the senior tour again in 2009 after serving a year in jail for tax evasion. Epps says Cabrera is fully healed after surgery to fix injuries to his wrist and arm that kept him from playing well on the senior tour. This happened not long before he was arrested. The pro from Houston said he’s ready to start training Cabrera for a comeback like Rocky Balboa’s.
Epps said, “I still think Angel can win the U.S. Senior Open because of how he plays on tough courses.” “I want him to win the award for best comeback player.”
