Angel Cabrera

Cabrera, nicknamed "El Pato" (The Duck), got started in golf as a caddie at age 10. His friends, most of whom were a little older, caddied at the Cordoba Golf Club, and they suggested he join them. "I'll go and see what it's all about," he told himself. One exploratory trip on the course was enough to hook him for good. He continued to caddie at Cordoba, the home club of friend Eduardo Romero, until he turned professional at age 20. Romero, who lived two blocks away from his young protege, encouraged him to take up the game at age 15. When Cabrera was 18, he finished sixth at the prestigious Center Open in Cordoba and decided to make a career of playing the game. After years of playing with scarce resources and with some club members' help, he competed in and out of the country with good results. After failing in three attempts to secure his European Tour card, Romero underwrote Cabrera's expenses in 1995.
Cabrera has won 34 titles in South America, including the Argentine Masters, Open, and PGA, and has played in four Presidents Cups (2005, '07, '09 and '13). Cabrera won the 2007 U.S. Open at Oakmont, defeating Tiger Woods and Jim Furyk by one stroke. At the 2009 Masters, he parred the second playoff hole to edge Kenny Perry and win the green jacket. He failed to make the FedExCup Playoffs in 2011 and '12, finishing 172nd and 174th, respectively, on the money list and did not have a top-20 finish. In December 2012, he shot a final-round 64 at the Visa Open de Argentina on PGA Tour Latinoamerica to defeat Miguel Carballo and Oscar Fraustro by four strokes. The Argentine was afflicted with health problems after winning the Masters, including tendinitis in his left wrist in 2010 and minor surgeries to remedy oral and digestive issues. He has been injury-free since 2014.
Cabrera has two sons who are excellent golfers. He says he would be a soccer player, if not a golfer.
2013 Notes: He lost in a playoff at the Masters when Adam Scott birdied the second extra hole (No. 10 at Augusta National). Entering the week, he was 119th in the FedExCup standings and 269th in the Official World Golf Ranking. He finished the year 65th in FedExCup standings and 64th in the world ranking. A week after the Masters, he traveled to Abierto del Centro, a tournament he had won six times. He played the final eight holes in five under par, including a hole-out eagle 2 at the 72nd hole, to force a playoff with Rafael Gomez. He won with a birdie at the first playoff hole. Had gone 19 years between his first Abierto del Centro win and his most recent title there. He had two wins and two losses in his four matches at the Presidents Cup.
2014 Notes: Cabrera struggled at the start of the year with only one top-25 finish in his first 13 worldwide starts - 2nd at the Abierto OSDE del Centro presentado por FiberCorp in South America in April. In his 13th start, he missed the cut at the U.S. Open, his seventh missed cut of the year. However, he bounced back the next week, finishing T-11th at the Travelers Championship and a T-24th at the Quicken Loans. Then came the Greenbrier Classic, where he entered the final round trailing playing partner Billy Hurley III by two. Cabrera shot a final-round, six-under 64, including a hole-out eagle from 176 yards at the par-4 13th hole, to win by two over George McNeill. The win came in his 218th PGA Tour start and was his third victory (first in a non-major championship), with wins coming at the 2007 U.S. Open and 2009 Masters. He earned a spot in the FedExCup Playoffs for the sixth time, where he made it through three of the four events. Despite a T-12th finish at the BMW Championship, he ended the season ranked 50th in the final FedExCup standings and on the money list.
2015 Notes: His best finish on the PGA Tour was a T-15th at the Waste Management Phoenix Open. In South America, finished T-2nd at the Abierto OSDE del Centro and T-3rd at the VISA Open de Argentina.
2016 Notes: Had only one top-25, a T-24th at the Masters. Made 12 cuts in 22 starts for the second consecutive season and finished 180th in the FedExCup standings.
2017 Notes: Teamed with fellow Argentine Julian Etulain to finish T-5th at the Zurich Classic, his best finish of the year. Was 206th in the final FedExCup standings. He also played in four Korn Ferry Tour events, making two cuts, a T-54th at the Colombia Championship, and withdrawing from the Korn Ferry Tour Championship.
2018 Notes: Only played in 13 events worldwide, best finish was 6th at the Volvo Abierto de Chile 2018. In five starts on the PGA Tour, made one cut at the Sanderson Farms, finishing T-34th.
2019 Notes: Played in nine Korn Ferry Tour events and made the cut in two: T-55th in the TPC Colorado and T-60th in the Rex Hospital Open. Became eligible for the Champions Tour, played in the Ally Challenge finishing T-21st, and withdrew from Sanford International. Played just twice on the PGA Tour, missing the cut at the Masters and Puerto Rico Open.
2020 Notes: Played on just the PGA Tour Champions. His best finish in nine starts was T-27th at the Ally Challenge. His last competitive round came in the Pure Insurance Championship in September of 2020, he withdrew after 76-77.