More than a year ago, Angel Cabrera was not denied a visa for entry into the USA to compete at the 2024 Masters Tournament. Despite his lifetime exemption for winning the tournament in 2009, the Argentine golfer was denied entry due to his troublesome past in Argentina. A year later, Cabrera competed at the 2025 Masters and missed the cut. Now, a month later, El Pato is making history at the PGA Tour Champions. By claiming his second senior major title in back-to-back weeks.
The 55-year-old scored 8 under par across four days of golf, beating out Danish golfer Thomas Bjorn and Irish golfer Padraig Harrington by just a single stroke at the Congressional Blue Course in Maryland. After sinking his putt for the victory, he raised both his hands up in joy before hugging his son, who was his caddie for the event. It was a very closely fought competition, and at one point, the Argentine was trailing the Irish golfer by two strokes. However, the 15th hole changed the momentum.
Harrington could only manage a double bogey on it, and just a few minutes later, Cabrera came in and sank a birdie to gain an outright lead yet again. That swing proved to be a huge momentum boost for Cabrera, who managed to hold out eventually for a tough victory. “To win a major is incredible, so I’m very proud. It brings a lot of thoughts into my mind. It was very hard, the stuff I went through, so there’s a lot going on in my mind right now. It’s hard to process,” the Argentine stated after claiming his third PGA Tour Champions title of the season, and second major.
Cabrera is referring to his time in jail in Argentina. He was incarcerated for domestic violence for nearly 30 months and had not played golf during the entire stretch, but it was reading golf magazines and remembering his good time on the course that got him through jail. He took up the sport again as Cabrera’s long-time coach and mentor, Charlie Epps, stated that “golf is all he has left.” And what a good decision that turned out to be.
#WINNER — Angel Cabrera captures the Senior PGA Championship, claiming back to back majors within a week of one another. The wins mark the first two senior majors of his career as his comeback continues. pic.twitter.com/nqpfhqwlVp
— NUCLR GOLF (@NUCLRGOLF) May 25, 2025
Cabrera started day 4 on top of the leaderboard alongside four other golfers at 5 under par. Retief Goosen and Jason Caron could only manage a 1 under par score to finish T4, while Phillip Archer slipped considerably, finishing T20 with an even par score. The two-time major winner, however, outclassed his competition by carding 4 birdies and an eagle during the last eighteen holes. Cabrera managed to ensure his victory on the last hole, despite carding a bogey.
He had previously claimed victory at the Regions Tradition, where he beat out Jerry Kelly by a stroke after a grueling four days of golf. Cabrera displayed nerves of steel across all four rounds of golf at the Greystone Founders Course and ended up clinching his second title and first major on the senior tour with that victory. The Argentine had also won the James Hardie Pro-Football Hall of Fame Invitational earlier this year to round out a dominating season so far.
Angel Cabrera’s victory was celebrated well by the golfing world, with several fans offering support and funny comments after his title-clinching performance at the Congressional Blue Course in Maryland.
The golf world reacts to the second senior major victory for Angel Cabrera
The Argentine golfer had earned the nickname ‘El Pato’, the duck in Spanish, for his walking form. It resembles the waddle of a duck. One fan commented, “Viva El Pato,” while another fan took it a step further. The fan posted a GIF of Donald Duck walking and counting money, referring to this nickname as well as the $630,000 Cabrera pocketed after his third victory on the Champions Tour this season. The Senior PGA Championship offers one of the highest purses, second only to the US Senior Open.
The victory is highly reminiscent of Scottie Scheffler‘s in many aspects. Firstly, Cabrera is currently looking at a dominant season similar to Scottie Scheffler’s in 2024. Scheffler had won 7 events during the campaign, establishing himself as one of the top golfers in the world during that stretch. Cabrera’s 2025 PGA Tour Champions season could be headed in a similar direction. Another comparison which a fan made was that Scheffler was arrested in 2024 during the PGA Championship, for assaulting a police officer with his vehicle. He was in jail for a brief period of time before getting released in due time to compete at the major. He returned to the same major a year later, to claim his third major title. “Scottie Scheffler-esk. From jail to the winner circle lol.” The fan stated.
One user recalled the topsy-turvy journey that Cabrera had to undergo before achieving this incredible feat on the PGA Tour Champions, stating, “Amazing player! Redemption at its finest! Reflected upon his acts and became a better person! Nice to see him enjoying the 2nd opportunity life gave him! Cmon, Pato!! One of the fans, highlighting his season so far, wrote, “This dude is a legend. Back-to-back wins straight outta prison!”
One golf fan commented that, “LIV missed not signing him.” Currently, there were two senior players on the LIV circuit who played at Maryland. Richard Bland, who won this same event last year, finished T14 with a score of 2 under par, while Lee Westwood finished T25 with a score of 1 over par after a horrible last round. Cabrera could be a competitive force if he wants to on the LIV Golf circuit, and the fan certainly thinks so.
What do you think of Angel Cabrera’s season-defining victory at the Senior PGA Championship?
The post Fighting to Turn Back Time, Angel Cabrera Grabs Fans’ Attention With Back-to-Back Win After 30 Months in Jail appeared first on EssentiallySports.