Cabrera overcomes odds, charges to win Masters

Mike Dudurich

Posted 2009-04-13

El Gato has once again proven mightier than the Tiger. For the second time in almost two calendar years, Angel Cabrera has withstood the pressure of a Tiger Woods Sunday charge and won a major championship. It was hardly the march of a stoic champion on Sunday at Augusta National Golf Club, but the burly Argentinean overcame some potentially-fatal mistakes, making birdies on 2 of the last four holes to get into the first three-man playoff in 22 years at the Masters.

The collapse suffered by Kenny Perry coming down the stretch continued on the second hole of the playoff when he missed the 10th green and couldn’t get up and down and Cabrera made a routine 4.

Perry bogeyed 17 and 18 and Chad Campbell, the third man in the playoff, birdied 2 holes of Amen Corner and then 15. But Campbell missed a 6-footer on the first playoff hole to fall out. Cabrera, who won the 2007 U.S. Open at Oakmont Country Club in suburban Pittsburgh, became the first Argentinean to win the Masters. It was only his second PGA Tour victory, but it gives him quite a historical footnote.

Cabrera and Woods are the only active PGA Tour players with a Masters and U.S. Open victory. Cabrera’s English is sketchy, at best, so he spoke through an interpreter during the awards ceremonies.

"This is a great moment, the dream of any golfer to win the Masters," Cabrera said. "I'm so emotional I can barely talk."

At times during his round, it looked as though Cabrera was having trouble breathing and/or swallowing. He bogeyed the 4th and 5th holes and dropped another on the 10th. Cabrera appeared to be on the verge of falling out of contention but then roared back with birdies on 13, 15 and 16. He made a par to finish out regulation, but on the first playoff hole (the 18th) he hit it into the trees on the right off the tee and then rattled his next shot off a tree and into the fairway.

None of that stopped Cabrera from winning his second major in the last eight that have been contested. What makes that amazing is this stat: Coming into this week, he’s played in 29 events, has recorded 1 top 10 and missed 10 cuts.

While the eventual champion and the man most people thought would win (Perry) thrashed and battled, several groups ahead one of the great shows in Masters was taking place. Woods and Phil Mickelson were paired together, not in the final group as everyone hoped, but they combined to give the huge patron galleries and a worldwide television audience non-stop excitement.

Mickelson tied a Masters record with a 30 on the front nine to get into contention. Woods didn’t do much early, but played well through Amen Corner, then caught his greatest rival with three birdies in a four-hole stretch on the legendary back nine.

Mickelson dumped a ball into Rae’s Creek in front of the 12th green and went on to make double bogey.

He also missed birdie putts of less than 6 feet on 15 and 17. He took away whatever chance he had of getting into a tie but making bogey on 18. Woods uncharacteristically bogeyed the final two holes and shot a 68 and finished at 8-under. "I felt that when Tiger and Phil were making birdies and were making a move, I had to make a move myself in order to be the winner," Cabrera said.

It wasn’t exactly a smooth move, but it was good enough to get the job done. There’s a reason the Masters is the highlight of the golf season for many people and it’s not just because it’s the first one. This was, pure and simple, spectacular drama. Even casual observers, in between Easter meals, got pulled into the telecast. It’s corny, I’ll admit, but it is a tradition unlike any other. And I grow to appreciate the event and what it stands for every year.

Start a Feedback Thread Or Talk About This Article

About Mike...
As a sports writer for over 35 years, Mike Dudurich has seen a lot of great things, covered spectacular events, but his passion is, and has been golf. He recently ended a 29-year career at the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review and will now be a frequent contributor on GolfGearReview.com. Mike hosts a weekly golf radio show on 1250 ESPN in Pittsburgh from the beginning of April through the end of August. The show airs Saturdays from 8-9 a.m. and can be heard online at http://stations.espn.go.com/stations/espnradio1250/show?showId=insidepghgolf - Listen to Mike Here!.

Mike's Most Recent Features

Will Michelle Wie now go to the next level? - I can’t say that I’m a huge Michelle Wie fan.

She’s a gifted golfer and, even at 20 years old, has shown glimpses of the talent we’ve heard about for the last 10 years or more. So I do have t

Some familiar names fail to keep PGA Tour cards for 2010 - The 2009 “regular season” on the PGA Tour is over.

So is the Fall Series, the add-on to that regular season, made up of tournaments with lesser purses but, at the same time, provide those who

Mickelson sets stage for dramatic 2010 - Soooooooooo, while those at the pinnacle of the PGA Tour’s food chain finish off their 2009 season with a lucrative week in China, those desperately trying to get a foot in the door at the bottom end

Tour players forced to mingle ... and don't like it - I’ve said this before and probably will say it many, many more times.

In a lot of ways, I respect professional golfers much more than a lot of other athletes in the “play for pay” business. A

GolfCourt anyone? An idea with real 'net' merit - Look around your town or city and if you don’t readily find a tennis court that’s greatly underused or overgrown, you’re in a rare locale.

Those tennis courts are the target of a creation kno

Smith adds to Western Pa. golf lore with Mid-Amateur triumph - Pardon me while I wax parochial for a few words.

I am a life-long resident of western Pennsylvania, an area of the world that lacks the sunshine and warm weather of some parts of the world, b

Thoughts to live by when planning a golf trip - It’s my opinion, and one that’s widely shared among those who have ever participated in a golf trip, that what happens in the days and months prior to the trip itself is critical to the success of the

Woods perfect, U.S. wins President Cup - Sometimes, things are almost too good to be true.

I mean, seriously. The world’s best player, who took a long time to warm up to these team championships, providing the Presidents Cup-winning

U.S. leads Presidents Cup ... but not by much - Two days into the eighth edition of the Presidents Cup, things are just about where they should be.

The United States team has a 6 ½-5 ½ lead over the Internationals, built in large part in t

Games can add to golf trip excitement - In Part I of this series, I regaled you with a Reader’s Digest version of a four-man golf trip to central Florida, a trip that had only a bit of drama and was pretty much straight golf. No games, no b

Home - More Golf News & Reviews
Start a Feedback Thread Or Talk About This Article

Didn't find what you need? Try our site search:

Golfsmith Tennis - Best Brands, Best Prices