Return of Angel Cabrera is Dark Cloud Over 2025 Masters

View From The Fairway by Derek Clements

Clifford Roberts ran The Masters and Augusta National with an iron fist - and I can guarantee that he would be turning in his grave at the knowledge that there will be a convicted felon in the field this week. There will also be a convicted criminal in the field at The Open Championship at Royal Portrush in July.

One is a redemption story, the other not so much.

Former Masters winner Angel Cabrera returns to Augusta National this week. He won in 2009, two years after claiming the US Open. He was the first Argentinian to win either major. 

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His success attracted a lot of attention. 

Born in Cordoba, his parents split up when he was four years old. He was brought up in poverty by his grandmother until he was 16, when he moved in with Silvia, a woman who was 12 years older than him and the mother of four boys. The couple then had two sons of their own.

When Cabrera was 10, he became a caddie at the Cordoba 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.

He was also taken under the wing of Eduardo Romero, a fellow Argentinian who enjoyed tremendous success on the European Tour.

But in January 2021,Cabrera was arrested in Rio de Janeiro after Interpol issued a red notice because he left his homeland without authorisation after the start of a trial where he faced a number of criminal charges, including assault, theft and illegal intimidation.

He remained in a Brazilian prison until June 2021, when his extradition to Argentina was completed. In July 2021, he was convicted and sentenced to two years in prison. In November 2022, he was convicted of a second assault and sentenced to an additional two years and four months in prison. He was released on 4 August 2023.

Cabrera was cleared to play in PGA Tour-sanctioned events in December 2023 and has just won on the Champions Tour.

Let’s not beat about the bush here - Cabrera was jailed for assaulting his former partner. This was domestic abuse over a sustained period of time.

I am all for giving people a second chance, but does Cabrera really merit a place in the field at Augusta?

The galleries at Augusta have a well-deserved reputation for being fair-minded. This may have something to do with the fact that they know they will be ejected if they misbehave in any way. But I do wonder how on earth they will react to Cabrera’s presence? I would find it incredibly difficult to root for somebody who has been convicted for domestic violence and I am certain many other people will feel exactly the same way.

Unsurprisingly, Cabrera has had plenty to say on the subject and, as you would expect, is making all the right noises, although he clearly feels sorry for himself. 

He told the Daily Mail: "Right now, I’m fine, but I regret everything that I have done wrongly in my past. I am also frustrated that I dumped very, very important years of my life. I made mistakes.

"It is one of the worst things that can happen to a human being, not being able to have freedom. The lack of freedom is something really difficult, really hard. And on the other hand, you know, I can tell you that the most important thing I feel right now is the second chance, the opportunity to get back on the right track.

"I am repentant and embarrassed. I made serious mistakes. I refused to listen to anyone and did what I wanted, how I wanted and when I wanted. That was wrong. I ask Micaela for forgiveness. I ask Celia for forgiveness [Micaela and Celia are former girlfriends]. They had the bad luck of crossing paths with me when I was at my worst. I wasn’t the devil, but I did bad things."

Ryan Peak is an entirely different kettle of fish - somebody who fell in with the wrong crowd when he was a young man but who has turned his life around.

He is a former Australian motorcycle gang member who went to prison but qualified for The Open at Royal Portrush this summer by winning the New Zealand Open.

Because of his conviction, the 31-year-old left-hander from Perth will need clearance to travel to the tournament. 

As a 21-year-old he was part of an outlawed motorcycle gang, the Rebels, and was sentenced to five years in prison for a serious assault, but says that focusing on golf has turned his life around.

He said: “I am lost for words. This win is life-changing. It's one hell of a story, one hell of a moment."

A promising golfer in his youth, Peake was contacted in prison by coach Ritchie Smith, who encouraged him to take up the clubs again after his release from custody.

Now a rookie on the Australasian Tour, he almost missed the tournament at the Millbrook Resort course near Queenstown after his entry to New Zealand was delayed by immigration officials.

Peake was close to tears as he celebrated with family and friends after the one-shot victory, which earned him almost £100,000 and has changed his life.

He said the win came down to "just belief", adding: "I always knew I could do it, it was just a matter of time when I was going to do it. This is what I do now. I want to be here and just play golf. The story is what it is, but I'm just out here playing golf.

"From this morning when I woke up four shots behind, to chase down a win. I've never been in a final group to now being a member of the Asian Tour."

I know which one of the two I will be rooting for.