2-Time Major Champion Angel Cabrera Is Never a Bad Pick at the Masters

He is perhaps the most interesting man in golf. On one hand, since playing in his first PGA Tour event in 2006, Angel Cabrera has just three wins in 232 PGA Tour appearances, hardly representative of a Hall of Famer.

Yet the veracity behind his victories—winning the 2007 U.S. Open and the 2009 Masters—automatically puts the Argentinean in golf’s elite. This is also a good reason to keep him in mind when making predictions for the upcoming Masters Championship.

Statistically speaking, Cabrera is a sporadic player. According to PGATour.com, he missed the cut in 10 of the 23 events he played on tour in 2014 and nine times in both the 2011 and 2012 PGA Tour seasons. And never has he had more than four top-10 finishes in a single PGA Tour season.

But for some reason, when the pressure is on, Cabrera thrives. His first win on tour was at the U.S. Open, one of golf’s oldest, most prestigious tournaments. No less impressive, Cabrera won at Oakmont Country Club, a course that conceded few birdies that year. He won with a final score of five over par.

Although one could never call him a dominant player on tour, he was not a one-and-done player. Two years after winning the U.S. Open, Cabrera again proved that he was a force to reckon with, winning the 2009 Masters.

The most extraordinary part of Cabrera’s game might be his mental capacity in high-stress situations. At the 2007 U.S Open, the 45-year-old did not let the intimidating presence of Tiger Woods and Jim Furyk, who were right behind him on Sunday, phase him. The thought of becoming the first Argentinean in 40 years to win a major did not derail his focus either.

That day, Cabrera made two birdies down the stretch on the back nine to win. Additionally, at the 2009 Masters, Cabrera made a magnificent up-and-down par after pushing his tee ball into the trees to stay alive in a playoff, which he would eventually win.

“There are some players that have psychologists. I smoke," said Cabrera, according to the Associated Press (h/t ESPN). "Probably tomorrow, when I wake up with this trophy beside me, I will realize I won the U.S. Open." 

Growing up, Cabrera was not a country-club kid. To pursue golf, he had to put everything on the line. “This kid was poor as poor,” said Charlie Epps in a Golf Digest article by Tim Rosaforte. Epps is a pro from Cordoba Golf Club in Argentina, the course Cabrera caddied at.

To further put it in perspective, as outlined on his personal website, Cabrera is an elementary school dropout. He did it so he could caddy full time in order to provide extra money for his family.

These life-altering decisions seemed to have translated onto the golf course. In times of great importance, Cabrera has demonstrated a resilient, fearless attitude, almost a sense of urgency that most players—no matter how skillful—simply do not possess.

Take the 2013 Masters Championship; after starting the back nine at Augusta Sunday with bogeys on Holes 10 and 13, Cabrera was able to close out with birdies on 16 and 18 to force a playoff with Adam Scott. 

Despite the fact he has not made the cut in four of the tournaments he has played in this season, Cabrera has the ability to get hot at any time. When his name is on the leaderboard, previous majors have shown he is as deadly as any golfer in the world.

If you are looking to stand out this year in your Masters pool and make that bold Wisconsin-over-Kentucky-like pick, there is no one better than Angel Cabrera.