- Angel Cabrera is returning to the Masters after coming out of prison in 2023
- He was jailed after being found guilty of assault, theft, and intimidation
- Cabrera’s return to the tournament has sparked considerable controversy
The chairman of Augusta National has delivered a blunt defence of the decision to invite Angel Cabrera – jailed for 30 months after domestic violence convictions – back to the Masters.
On Thursday the disgraced Argentine, 55, will head onto the famous course two years after being released from prison.
Former champions obtain a lifetime invite to the Masters and Cabrera triumphed here in 2009 but his invite has triggered outrage among many, including women’s rights groups.
‘We certainly abhor domestic violence of any type,’ said Fred Ridley when asked about the response on the eve of the tournament. ‘As it relates to Angel, he has served the sentence prescribed by the courts and he was a past champion – so he was invited.’
Ridley’s response echoed that of Cabrera himself, who was convicted of offences against two women including assault and theft.
‘I won the Masters, why not [play the Masters]?’ he said previously.
Angel Cabrera’s Masters return has been controversial after his domestic violence convictions
Augusta National chairman Fred Ridley defended the invite to the 2009 Masters champion
Cabrera says he ‘regrets what happened’ and claims he has been given ‘another opportunity’
‘Obviously I regret things that happened and you learn from them, but at the same time those are in the past and we have to look forward, what’s coming.’
Among other offences, Cabrera admitted throwing a mobile phone at the head of one ex and injuring her scalp.
In 2021, he was arrested in Rio de Janeiro having left Argentina without authorisation following the start of a trial at which he was accused of assault, theft and illegal intimidation. Upon extradition to Argentina, he was convicted and sentenced to two years. In 2022 he was convicted of an assault against a second woman and sentenced to an additional two years and four months before his release in August 2023.
He will appear at the Masters for the first time since 2019.
‘Obviously I regret things that happened and you learn from them, but at the same time those are in the past and we have to look forward, what’s coming,’ he added. ‘Life has given me another opportunity, I got to take advantage of that and I want to do the right things in this second opportunity.’
