Angel Cabrera Cleared For PGA Tour Return After Prison Sentence

Two-time major champion Angel Cabrera’s suspension from the PGA Tour has been lifted following his release from prison. 

First reported by South American journalist Matias Torge, who runs the X account 'Handicap 54', Cabrera has been given the green light by the PGA Tour and is now “authorised to play again on the tours belonging to the PGA Tour” from next year. This would suggest he would return to action on the over-50s PGA Tour Champions circuit.

The PGA Tour has confirmed to Golf Monthly that "Cabrera is eligible to compete on all Tours." Golf Digest also obtained a letter from the PGA Tour, which the Argentine is said to have received on December, 18 and stated that his suspension has been "lifted effective immediately."

The 54-year-old was arrested by Brazilian federal police on an Interpol warrant in January 2021 and later received a sentence of three years and 10 months over domestic violence cases against two of his former girlfriends.

He was released from jail on parole on August 4 after he completed 30 months in custody in Brazil and his native Argentina.

Cabrera, who won the US Open in 2007 and the Masters in 2009, made his return to professional golf last week and finished in a tie for 10th at the Abierto del Litoral (the Coast Open), a regular fixture on the PGA Tour Latinoamerica Developmental Series.

In a recent interview with Golf Digest, Cabrera spoke about his ambitions to return to the PGA Tour Champions, where he last played in September 2020 at the Pure Insurance Open.

“I thought about making a comeback the entire time I was in prison,” he said. “My goal is to prepare and play on the Champions Tour.

“When I’m out there competing, that’s when I’ll truly know if I can handle it physically at that level. Mentally, I’m already there. Golf is everything to me. It’s my life. I have to continue.”

Cabrera is also hopeful of returning to Augusta National, where he claimed the biggest win of his career in 2009. 

“It’s my dream to return to that prestigious place and walk the course that gave me so much joy and satisfaction,” he told Golf Digest. “It would be a great privilege to return and to attend the Champions Dinner with so many of the golf world’s greatest players.”

Golfweek reported last month that Cabrera was seeking a visa to travel to the US and reapply for reinstatement to the PGA Tour Champions.

It is also unclear if Augusta National will honour Cabrera’s lifetime invitation as a former champion to the Masters in April.

Cabrera has won three times on the PGA Tour and was ranked as high as ninth in the world during his career.

He won his first major at the 2007 US Open, beating Tiger Woods and Jim Furyk by one stroke. He followed it up with his second major title at the 2009 Masters, where he beat Chad Campbell and Kenny Perry in a playoff to claim the Green Jacket.