| Ángel Cabrera | |
|---|---|
 Cabrera in 2007 | |
| Personal information | |
| Full name | Ángel Leopoldo Cabrera |
| Nickname | El Pato (The Duck) |
| Born | (1969-09-12)12 September 1969 (age 56) |
| Height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) |
| Weight | 210 lb (95 kg; 15 st) |
| Sporting nationality |  Argentina |
| Residence | Córdoba, Argentina |
| Children | 2 |
| Career | |
| Turned professional | 1989 |
| Current tour | European Senior Tour |
| Former tours | PGA Tour European Tour Tour de las Américas TPG Tour |
| Professional wins | 57 |
| Highestranking | 9 (2 October 2005)[1] |
| Number of wins by tour | |
| PGA Tour | 3 |
| European Tour | 5 |
| Asian Tour | 1 |
| PGA Tour Champions | 3 |
| European Senior Tour | 2 |
| Other | 47 |
| Best results in major championships (wins: 2) | |
| Masters Tournament | Won:2009 |
| PGA Championship | T19: 2000 |
| U.S. Open | Won:2007 |
| The Open Championship | T4:1999 |
Ángel Leopoldo Cabrera (pronounced[ˈaŋxelkaˈβɾeɾa]; born 12 September 1969) is an Argentineprofessional golfer who has played on both theEuropean Tour andPGA Tour. He is known affectionately as"El Pato" in Spanish("The Duck") for hiswaddling gait. He is a two-timemajor champion, with wins at theU.S. Open in2007 and theMasters in2009; he was the first Argentine and South American to win either.[2] He also lost in a sudden death playoff at the Masters in2013.
Born inCórdoba, Argentina, 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 thePGA Tour'squalifying school in 2011, but was eliminated in the second stage. His other son, Ángel, became a professional in 2012 and joined theCanadian Tour. The elder Ángel and his sons also compete onPGA Tour Latinoamérica.
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 in1996. Cabrera retained his card comfortably in his first three seasons and improved substantially to tenth on the Order of Merit in1999. He has since finished in the top 15 of the Order of Merit on seven occasions, with a best placing of fifth in2005.
Cabrera's first European Tour win was the 2001Argentine Open, which was sanctioned by the European Tour on a one-time basis that year. In 2005, he won theBMW Championship, the most prestigious event on the European Tour outside themajors and theWorld 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.[3]
Cabrera featured a highest of 9th in theOfficial World Golf Ranking[4][5] on 2 October 2005. He was the top-ranked Latin American player for a number of years before the emerging pair ofAndrés Romero andCamilo Villegas won PGA Tour tournaments in 2008.
Cabrera earned enough money ($623,504) on thePGA Tour in 2006 playing as a non-member to earn a tour card for2007. He has played almost full-time in 2007,2008, and2009.
In 2009, Cabrera announced partnership with Gary Player Design to collaborate on a golf course design business with a focus in Latin America.[6] This coincides with golf, the Olympics and Brazil coming together in 2016.
Cabrera won his first major championship at the2007 U.S. Open atOakmont nearPittsburgh. He finished the tournament at 5-over, topping runners-upTiger Woods andJim Furyk 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 sank a 20-foot (6 m) putt at the 8th hole, which played at a lengthy 300 yards (274 m) 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."[7]
Cabrera became the firstArgentine player to win the U.S. Open and the second to win a major, joiningRoberto De Vicenzo, who won theBritish Open in1967 atRoyal Liverpool (Hoylake). Cabrera received the 2007Olimpia de Oro ("Golden Olympia") as Argentina's sportsperson of the year.[8]
Cabrera won theMasters Tournament in2009 in a three-way sudden-death playoff, seeing offChad Campbell after the first playoff hole, and defeatingKenny Perry on the second. On the first playoff hole, the 18th, Cabrera missed right of the fairway, leaving his ballstymied 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 30 yards (27 m) 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 4-foot (1.2 m) 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.[9] He was the lowest-ranked golfer to win the Masters, having been ranked 69th before the tournament.
In2011, 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 leaderRory McIlroy. 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 AfricanCharl Schwartzel. 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 theMcGladrey Classic.
At the Masters in2013, 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 leaderJason Day. Day then bogeyed two holes in succession and when Cabrera made a 20-foot putt for birdie at the 16th he tiedAdam 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 163-yard (149 m) 7-iron to 3 feet (0.9 m) and knocked in the putt to force a playoff. On the first playoff hole, Scott's second shot was 160 yards (146 m) 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 18 feet (5 m) 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 onPGA Tour Latinoamérica, a developmental tour in Latin America whose 2013 members included former PGA Tour winnersCarlos Franco andTed Purdy. Cabrera won the 2012Visa Open de Argentina and the 2013Abierto del Centro.
Cabrera won theGreenbrier Classic inWest Virginia on 6 July2014, his first PGA Tour victory since claiming the green jacket in2009. 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[10]
Cabrera finished in the top-25 only twice and wound up 170th on the PGA Tour's money list.
In January 2021, Cabrera was arrested in Brazil on anInterpol notice after leaving Argentina without court permission while facing domestic violence allegations.[11][12] He was extradited in June 2021 and later convicted for assault and threats against a former partner and received a two-year prison sentence the following month.[13][14] In November 2022, he was convicted again on similar charges involving another former partner and received an additional 28-month sentence.[15] The sentences were served concurrently. Cabrera was released on parole in August 2023 after serving approximately 30 months in custody.[16] Cabrera was cleared to play in PGA Tour-sanctioned events in December 2023.[17]
| Legend |
|---|
| Major championships (2) |
| Other PGA Tour (1) |
| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | To par | Margin of victory | Runner(s)-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 17 Jun2007 | U.S. Open | 69-71-76-69=285 | +5 | 1 stroke |  Jim Furyk,Tiger Woods |
| 2 | 12 Apr2009 | Masters Tournament | 68-68-69-71=276 | −12 | Playoff | Chad Campbell,Kenny Perry |
| 3 | 6 July2014 | Greenbrier Classic | 68-68-64-64=264 | −16 | 2 strokes | George McNeill |
PGA Tour playoff record (1–1)
| No. | Year | Tournament | Opponent(s) | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2009 | Masters Tournament | Chad Campbell,Kenny Perry | Won with par on second extra hole Campbell eliminated by par on first hole |
| 2 | 2013 | Masters Tournament |  Adam Scott | Lost to birdie on second extra hole |
| Legend |
|---|
| Major championships (2) |
| Flagship events (1) |
| Other European Tour (2) |
| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | To par | Margin of victory | Runner(s)-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 Apr2001 | Open de Argentina1 | 67-65-69-67=268 | −12 | 2 strokes |  Carl Pettersson |
| 2 | 12 May2002 | Benson & Hedges International Open | 68-73-68-69=278 | −10 | 1 stroke |  Barry Lane |
| 3 | 29 May2005 | BMW Championship | 70-70-66-67=273 | −15 | 2 strokes |  Paul McGinley |
| 4 | 17 Jun2007 | U.S. Open | 69-71-76-69=285 | +5 | 1 stroke | Jim Furyk,Tiger Woods |
| 5 | 12 Apr2009 | Masters Tournament | 68-68-69-71=276 | −12 | Playoff | Chad Campbell,Kenny Perry |
1Co-sanctioned by thePGA of Argentina Tour
European Tour playoff record (1–2)
| No. | Year | Tournament | Opponent(s) | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2005 | Deutsche Bank Players Championship of Europe | Niclas Fasth | Lost to birdie on third extra hole |
| 2 | 2009 | Masters Tournament | Chad Campbell,Kenny Perry | Won with par on second extra hole Campbell eliminated by par on first hole |
| 3 | 2013 | Masters Tournament | Adam Scott | Lost to birdie on second extra hole |
| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | To par | Margin of victory | Runner-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 Nov2007 | Barclays Singapore Open | 71-63-70-72=276 | −8 | 1 stroke |  Vijay Singh |
| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | To par | Margin of victory | Runner(s)-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 16 Dec2012 | Visa Open de Argentina | 65-70-71-64=270 | −18 | 4 strokes | Miguel Ángel Carballo, Óscar Fraustro |
| 2 | 21 Apr2013 | Abierto OSDE del Centro | 72-72-76-64=284 | E | Playoff | Rafael Gómez |
| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | To par | Margin of victory | Runner(s)-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 29 Nov 1999 | Torneo de Maestros Telefónica | 271 | −13 | Scott Dunlap,Fabian Montovia, Costantino Rocca | |
| 2 | 9 Dec2001 | Torneo de Maestros Telefónica (2) | 66-65-72-69=272 | −12 | 2 strokes | Eduardo Romero |
| 3 | 1 Dec2002 | Abierto de Argentina | 70-62-68-69=269 | −11 | 4 strokes | José Cóceres |
| 4 | 1 Feb2004 | Abierto del Sur1 | 65-69-69-67=270 | −10 | 1 stroke | Miguel Guzmán |
| 5 | 6 Nov2005 | Torneo de Maestros1 (3) | 66-74-70-68=278 | −6 | 3 strokes | Julio Zapata |
| 6 | 15 Apr2006 | Abierto Visa del Centro1 | 68-67-70-70=275 | −9 | Playoff | Eduardo Romero |
| 7 | 15 Apr2007 | Abierto Visa del Centro2 | 66-75-73-65=279 | −5 | 2 strokes |  Raúl Fretes |
| 8 | 27 Oct 2007 | Torneo de Maestros2 (4) | 68-73-71-65=277 | −7 | Playoff | Ricardo González |
1Co-sanctioned by thePGA of Argentina Tour
2Co-sanctioned by theTPG Tour
| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | To par | Margin of victory | Runner-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 15 Apr2007 | Abierto Visa del Centro1 | 66-75-73-65=279 | −5 | 2 strokes | Raúl Fretes |
| 2 | 27 Oct 2007 | Torneo de Maestros1 | 68-73-71-65=277 | −7 | Playoff | Ricardo González |
| 3 | 22 Dec2012 | Ángel Cabrera Classic | 70-68-66-71=275 | −13 | 6 strokes | Ricardo González |
| 4 | 14 Dec2013 | Ángel Cabrera Classic (2) | 72-62-69-67=270 | −18 | Playoff | Miguel Ángel Carballo |
1Co-sanctioned by theEuropean Tour
2Co-sanctioned by theTour de las Américas
| Legend |
|---|
| PGA Tour Champions major championships (2) |
| Other PGA Tour Champions (1) |
| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | To par | Margin of victory | Runner(s)-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6 Apr2025 | James Hardie Pro-Football Hall of Fame Invitational | 68-66-71=205 | −11 | 2 strokes |  K. J. Choi |
| 2 | 19 May 2025 | Regions Tradition | 70-67-67-64=268 | −20 | 1 stroke | Jerry Kelly |
| 3 | 25 May 2025 | Senior PGA Championship | 72-69-70-69=280 | −8 | 1 stroke |  Thomas Bjørn,Pádraig Harrington |
| Legend |
|---|
| Senior major championships (1) |
| Other European Senior Tour (1) |
| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | To par | Margin of victory | Runner(s)-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 16 Jun2024 | Paul Lawrie Matchplay | 3 and 1 |  James Kingston | ||
| 2 | 25 May2025 | Senior PGA Championship | 72-69-70-69=280 | −8 | 1 stroke | Thomas Bjørn,Pádraig Harrington |
| Year | Championship | 54 holes | Winning score | Margin | Runners-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | U.S. Open | 4 shot deficit | +5 (69-71-76-69=285) | 1 stroke | Jim Furyk,Tiger Woods |
| 2009 | Masters Tournament | Tied for lead | −12 (68-68-69-71=276) | Playoff1 | Chad Campbell,Kenny Perry |
1Defeated Kenny Perry and Chad Campbell in a sudden-death playoff: Cabrera (4-4), Perry (4-5) and Campbell (5).
| Tournament | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | |||
| U.S. Open | |||
| The Open Championship | T51 | T4 | |
| PGA Championship | T41 |
| Tournament | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | CUT | T10 | T9 | T15 | CUT | CUT | T8 | T37 | T25 | 1 |
| U.S. Open | T37 | T7 | T66 | T35 | 16 | T33 | T26 | 1 | CUT | T54 |
| The Open Championship | CUT | CUT | CUT | T22 | CUT | 7 | 34 | CUT | T24 | |
| PGA Championship | T19 | T37 | T48 | T45 | CUT | CUT | CUT | T20 | T63 |
| Tournament | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | T18 | 7 | T32 | 2 | CUT | T22 | T24 | CUT | CUT |
| U.S. Open | T22 | CUT | T46 | CUT | CUT | T64 | T37 | CUT | |
| The Open Championship | CUT | CUT | CUT | T11 | T19 | ||||
| PGA Championship | CUT | CUT | CUT | WD | WD |
| Tournament | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | CUT | CUT | |||||
| PGA Championship | |||||||
| U.S. Open | |||||||
| The Open Championship |
WD = withdrew
CUT = missed the half way cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place.
| Tournament | Wins | 2nd | 3rd | Top-5 | Top-10 | Top-25 | Events | Cuts made |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 11 | 21 | 13 |
| PGA Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 15 | 7 |
| U.S. Open | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 18 | 13 |
| The Open Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 16 | 8 |
| Totals | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 10 | 23 | 70 | 41 |
| Tournament | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Players Championship | T26 | T36 | CUT | CUT | CUT | CUT | T14 |
| Tournament | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Players Championship | CUT | T41 | WD | T55 | T38 | WD |
CUT = missed the half-way cut
WD = withdrew
"T" indicates a tie for a place.
| Tournament | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Match Play | R64 | R64 | R32 | R32 | R32 | R64 | QF | R64 | R64 | |||||||
| Championship | T25 | T17 | NT1 | T36 | T16 | T18 | T26 | T19 | WD | T50 | ||||||
| Invitational | T19 | T23 | T4 | T41 | T4 | T69 | T36 | T4 | T33 | T38 | T31 | |||||
| Champions | ||||||||||||||||
1Cancelled due to9/11
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.
| Year | Championship | 54 holes | Winning score | Margin | Runner(s)-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Regions Tradition | 3 shot deficit | −20 (70-67-67-64=268) | 1 stroke | Jerry Kelly |
| 2025 | Senior PGA Championship | Tied for lead | −8 (72-69-70-69=280) | 1 stroke | Thomas Bjørn,Pádraig Harrington |
Results not in chronological order
| Tournament | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Tradition | NT | 1 | ||||
| Senior PGA Championship | NT | 1 | ||||
| Senior Players Championship | T70 | T17 | T21 | |||
| U.S. Senior Open | NT | CUT | ||||
| Senior British Open Championship | NT | T5 | T31 |
CUT = missed the halfway cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place
NT = no tournament due toCOVID-19 pandemic
| Awards | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Olimpia de Oro 2007 | Succeeded by |
Ángel Cabrera in thePresidents Cup | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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