Angel Cabrera had his first big moment on the golf course since trading his green jacket for an orange jumpsuit.
Cabrera earned a PGA Tour-sanctioned tournament victory Sunday at the inaugural James Hardie Pro Football Hall of Fame Invitational in Boca Raton, Fla. for the first time since he got out of jail in 2023.
Cabrera, who won the 2007 U.S. Open and 2009 Masters, had been imprisoned for domestic violence charges in his native Argentina.
“It’s very emotional after everything that I’ve gone through the last couple years,” Cabrera said, per Sports Illustrated. “So being here to have these chances again and win again for me is very emotional. And obviously it was a hard battle out there.”
Cabrera had been released from jail on parole in August 2023 and was allowed to play on the PGA Tour Champions that same year.
The golfer had been sentenced to two years in jail for threats and harassment to one of his former girlfriends in July 2021, and then the following year, he was on trial and eventually pled guilty to threats and harassment of a separate ex-girlfriend.
He was given three years and 10 months in prison after the court decided to make the two sentences concurrent.
During an interview with SI, Cabrera’s golf coach Charlie Epps told the outlet that Cabrera “has said prison was good for him. It helped him in many different ways.”
Cabrera will return to Augusta National this upcoming week as a past champion and Epps said the golfer was excited to to head back there.
“He is full of joy, he is so mentally strong. That’s one reason why he won, you know, and his record there is pretty darn good,” Epps said.
Credit: Source link
