'It's The Place Every Single Golfer Wants To Be' - Angel Cabrera Discusses His Controversial Return To The Masters After Prison

Angel Cabrera is due to make his 21st Masters appearance in 2025, having last played at Augusta National in 2019.

In the intervening years, the man known as 'El Pato' has endured a torrid time away from golf, exclusively down to self-inflicted legal issues.

Since missing the cut the year Tiger Woods won his fifth Green Jacket, the Argentinian was arrested in Rio De Janeiro and consequently convicted of domestic assault and intimidation of two former partners. The accusations had begun as early as 2016 before Cabrera's past eventually caught up with him in 2021.

He spent two-and-a-half years in jail, split between notorious Placido de Sa Carvalho prison in Brazil, the Carcel de Bouwer - an Argentinian institution nicknamed 'The Prison From Hell' - and Monte Cristo prison near Cordoba.

Speaking to the Daily Mail, Cabrera insisted Carcel de Bouwer - where he was kept in a different area to the particularly dangerous inmates - was not as bad as the nickname suggests.

He said: “The people in prison with me, they were mostly older people and educated and so it was a relatively okay environment. It wasn’t a dangerous one.”

Upon his release from the minimum security Monte Cristo prison in 2023, the 2009 Masters champion expressed his desire to play at Augusta National once again and had been aiming to tee it up in 2024 before visa issues prevented him from doing so.

Ahead of The Masters 12 months ago, Augusta National chairman Fred Ridley said “Angel certainly is one of our great champions” and admitted he was more than happy for Cabrera to take his place once more, as long as he could obtain the necessary documents which would allow him into the United States.

Although that was not possible the same year that Scottie Scheffler won his second Masters, Cabrera now has the correct visa and is in the field for 2025.

Speaking to the Daily Mail, Cabrera insisted he regretted the actions which led to his arrest and was now looking forward to starting afresh, with his upcoming trip to Augusta "the place every single golfer wants to be."

Cabrera said: “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.”

Cabrera won his only Masters after defeating Chad Campbell and Kenny Perry in sudden death playoff holes 16 years ago. Campbell missed a short putt to fall at the first hurdle before the Argentinian made par at the 10th once again to edge past Perry and become the first South American to win a Green Jacket.

Since his release from prison, Cabrera has produced some excellent performances on the PGA Tour Champions including a T5th result at the Senior Open Championship, a solo fourth at the SAS Championship, and a T9th at the final stage of PGA Tour Champions Q-School.

The Argentinian won his latest pro event on the Legends Tour in Europe last summer, defeating James Kingston 3&1 in the final of the Paul Lawrie Match Play.