Angel Cabrera could return to the Masters Champions Dinner at Augusta National Golf Club next week with a sentiment that he likely he hasn’t felt from his golf brethren in a while: sincere admiration.

The two-time major winner is 55 years old, but the Argentinian has only played in 25 PGA Tour Champions events because he was jailed in early 2021 on criminal charges that included assault, theft and illegal intimidation. Cabrera was later convicted in his home country and sentenced to two years in prison, followed by a second conviction for assault that resulted in a 28-month sentence. He was released in August 2023 and cleared to play in PGA Tour-sanctioned events in late 2023.

Last year, Cabrera got in nine starts and notched two top-10s in on the Champions Tour, but he has yet to win among the senior set, and that could change on Sunday. (He did pick up a trophy on the Legends Tour in the Paul Lawrie Matchplay last summer).

In a second round that included two eagles, Cabrera shot six-under-par 66 on Saturday in Boca Raton, Florida, and, at 10 under, was alone atop the leaderboard in the James Hardie Pro Football Hall of Fame Invitational, two strokes up on Alex Cjeka and four ahead of K.J. Choi.

Next Tuesday, as the winner of the 2009 Masters in a playoff over Chad Campbell and Kenny Perry, Cabrera will return to the Champions Dinner for the first time since 2019—first because of the COVID-19 pandemic, then the prison time, and finally not being able to get a visa last year.

Ben Crenshaw, the de facto host of the Champions Dinner, was at a gala in early March in Austin, Texas, and told Golfweek, “I’m excited to see Angel. “The focus of the dinner will be on Scottie [Scheffler, the reigning champion], but it’ll be great to have Angel back.”

Before last year’s Masters, Cabrera told Golf Digest, “It is my dream to return to that prestigious place. I played at Augusta for almost 20 years in a row. It is like a second home to me. It would be a great privilege to return and attend the champions dinner with so many of the world’s greatest players.”

In that same Golf Digest interview, Cabrera admitted his guilt and said he threw a cellphone at his partner’s head. “I am repentant and embarrassed,” he said. “I made serious mistakes.”

Cabrera has not played in the Masters since 2019 and last made the cut in 2016, when he made the cut and tied for 24th at the age of 46. The winner of 54 worldwide pro events, Cabrera lost a Masters playoff to Adam Scott in 2013, and his first major win came at the 2007 U.S. Open at Oakmont.

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