The 2009 US Masters Champion will be appearing at the Gary Player Country Club for a
second time, and the powerful Argentinian will again be thrilling the spectators with his
spectacular ball striking.
The former caddie from the Cordoba Golf Club has established several firsts in his
career as a professional golfer, not least of all being the only Argentinian to ever have
been ranked in the world’s top 10, and the only player from that country to be
selected for Presidents Cup duty.
At the start of the 2009 season, Angel Cabrera showed little signs that he would add
another major title to his impressive CV; in fact there were those who believed that his
victory in the 2007 US Open Championship was something of a “flash in the pan.”
After a mediocre showing in the WGC Accenture World Match-play event, where he finished
in 33rd place, he missed three cuts out of the next four events in which he played leading
up to the season’s first major. But after opening with a pair of 68s at Augusta
National, Cabrera was always in the mix, and when he outlasted Kenny Perry and Chad
Campbell in the sudden-death playoff, he donned the coveted green jacket on his tenth
visit to Augusta.
“This moment and in ’07 (referring to his US Open triumph) are the happiest
moments in my life,” said the beaming champion, adding that when he saw that Tiger
Woods was making a move, he felt that he had to make a move himself. Although he might
have been fortuitous when his ball received a kindly bounce off a tree on the first extra
hole, no one disputed the fact that he deserved victory after four sub-par rounds on a
course renowned for its treacherous greens.
Over the past four years, the amiable man with the broad shoulders, who is nicknamed
“Pato”, has gone from being merely a regular winner of lesser events to a
recognised world star, and has managed to combine his breathtaking power with a short game
that takes advantage of his prodigious length.
Since winning the 2005 BMW European PGA Championship at Wentworth in England, Cabrera
has won no less than six tournaments in his home country, a pair of majors and the Grand
Slam of Golf. He also chalked up his first victory in Asia at the 2007 Singapore Open.
Many fans will recall Cabrera’s much-publicised feats at the Gary Player Country
Club in 2005, when a second round of 64 made everyone sit up and take notice. His heroics
included reducing the 550-metre par five 14th hole to a drive and an 8-iron, and although
not producing his best golf during the recent Presidents Cup, this year has included many
excellent performances.
In the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational he finished fourth, and after a blistering final
round in the Deutsche Bank Championship he finished in the same position. In the Players
Championship, Cabrera played one of the finest rounds of the event, a 65 in the second
round, and despite following this up with a 77, still finished in the top 15.
Earlier this year Cabrera was awarded the Silver Laurel in Argentina, an honour
bestowed on Argentinians for special achievements, and it is certain that the big man is
going to achieve a lot more in golf.
As Tiger Woods has often said, any year with a major win is a great year. | 
