Extenuating circumstances, to put it delicately, put his PGA Tour Champions career on hold for 2½ years, but now at 55, Angel Cabrera is having success in his return to golf. The Argentinian won the Regions Tradition on Monday, his second PGA Tour Champions victory in his last four starts.

“I always thought I would [win], but didn’t think it would be so fast,” Cabrera said through an interpreter.

Cabrera, a former Masters and U.S. Open champion, was jailed for 30 months in Brazil and Argentina for domestic assault. He had played 11 senior events in 2019 and ’20 before his conviction and jail sentence, then returned last year with limited access, playing 12 events and posting two top-10s. He finished ninth in the senior qualifying tournament to gain status in 2025 and has played six events, winning the James Hardie Pro Football Hall of Fame Invitational in April, and now this, a one-stroke victory in the year’s first of five senior major championships.

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When play was stopped by inclement weather late on Sunday at Greystone Golf & Country Club in Birmingham, Ala., Cabrera and Jerry Kelly were tied for the lead with four holes to play. Upon the resumption of the final round Monday morning, Cabrera, playing ahead of Kelly, birdied two of the last three holes. Kelly, meanwhile, bogeyed the 17th hole and needed an eagle on the par-5 18th to force a playoff. But his eagle pitch and run stopped three feet short of the hole, giving Cabrera the victory.

Cabrera shot a closing round of eight-under 64 for a 72-hole total of 20-under 268. Kelly, the 54-hole leader, closed with a four-under 68 and a 72-hole score of 19-under 268.

“To tell you the truth, starting again this morning, I was very nervous,” Cabrera said. “But I needed to be calm and I had to trust myself. It brings a lot of thoughts into my mind. It was very hard, the stuff I went through, so there’s a lot going on in my mind right now. It’s hard to process.

“To win a major is incredible, so I’m very proud. I played very well all week. I had to trust myself and keep going and it paid off.”

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Main Image: Jonathan Bachman