Angel Cabrera opens up on the past (‘I was in a dark place’) and the future (‘I want to win everything’)

PUNTA MITA, Mexico — Angel Cabrera is back in his element.

After spending 30 months in prison for domestic violence, the 55-year-old past champion of the Masters and U.S. Open has returned to competing in professional golf tournaments. He’s rejoined PGA Tour Champions and made 12 starts this season with a best finish of fourth at the SAS Championship in October. He even won a Legends Tour event in June, beating James Kingston 3 and 1 in the final, marking his first professional victory in four years.

Cabrera competed in the WCW Mexico Senior Open at Pacifico Golf Course, Nov. 15-17, along the southernmost point of the Riviera Nayarit, 30 miles northwest of the resort city of Puerto Vallarta. After his second-round 73, Cabrera went straight to the range to iron out a wrinkle in his swing before kicking back at “The Deck” with his amateur partners and enjoying a late-afternoon nibble. As others washed their food down with adult beverages, Cabrera stuck to water. Married again and with a young child, Cabrera has much to live for back in Cordoba, Argentina — he also maintains a longtime residence in Houston when he’s playing the Champions tour — and is trying to live a better life and make amends for the mistakes he’s made. He lost three years on the golf course but said he “feels reborn” and still has ambitions of winning senior majors.

Feeling better about his game and with his appetite quenched, Cabrera sat with Golfweek for an in-person interview and conversed in Spanish via an interpreter for this Q&A.

GWK: How is your game now?

AC: It’s improving. The last month, I worked very hard on my game. So at this point, it’s improving.

GWK: Was there a point where you were concerned that you wouldn’t be allowed back to play?

AC: It was complicated. I didn’t know if I would be given a second chance. I still want to achieve many things and I’m grateful to be playing again.

GWK: Do you regret that you went to a Champions tour event back in August 2020, causing you to miss court dates and likely receive a harsher sentence?

AC: No, no. That’s in the past. I can’t do anything about that now.

GWK: What did you learn from your time in prison?

AC: A lot. I learned to live without money. I lived without my cell phone. I understand that life can be very basic and you can live without anything that you think you need, like a phone or money or anything. So it was very, very helpful to understand that you don’t need any (worldly possessions) to live.

GWK: How was prison good for you?

AC: That was a very dark chapter in my life and it gave me the opportunity to understand that I was doing things very wrong and it was helpful to understand that. Now I can be a good person.

GWK: Have you remained sober?

AC: Hardly nothing. Just a sip or two of wine. To be in prison was very helpful to quit drinking.

GWK: I hear that you were reading golf magazines in prison and that you found that to be therapeutic. How did reading about the game help you?

AC: They were very helpful to remember the good times. My friends who visited me provided a lot of magazines about golf, and it was very therapeutic because I remembered a lot of things and how to improve the game.

GWK: How much did you replay rounds in your mind to pass the time?

AC: No, no. I just remembered the good times.

GWK: You didn’t replay winning the Masters over and over?

AC: I always remember the Masters shots. I always remember the Masters moments. They are always with me.

GWK: How hard was it not to play golf for three years?

AC: That was my punishment. I knew what I had to do and I understood that in that moment I couldn’t play golf but I always dreamed that I would have a chance to come back to the golf.

GWK: You dropped out of school in sixth grade but during your imprisonment you picked up your education. What was that like for you?

AC: Yes, it was part of the process that I had to go through and I feel like I made a lot of progress.

GWK: What is your biggest regret?

AC: I regret a lot of things. I was not in a good mindset during that time. I want the past to be the past.

GWK: Are you a better man?

AC: I have a very dark area but ultimately I’m a good man and I will always be a good man.

GWK: What were the feelings like when you were told you would be released from prison?

AC: It wasn’t so dramatic because I knew that at some point I would have fulfilled my sentence.

GWK: You’re married again. How did that relationship happen?

AC: I met her five years before the three years I spent in prison. It was a longtime relationship.

GWK: Did you think you’d be a father again at this age?

AC: It’s incredible. But one more child is enough.

GWK: Take me back to that first time you went to El Terron Golf Club 25 days after getting out of prison and hitting balls for the first time.

AC: I was afraid that I would not hit the ball like I used to. Charlie Epps brought me some new Ping clubs and I was very excited to use them.

GWK: Your longtime coach Charlie Epps tells me he wants you to win the U.S. Senior. Is that your goal too?

AC: I want to win everything that I play.

GWK: What was it like to play in competition for the first time?

AC: I felt like I was born again. What I did was very selfish of me.

GWK: How have your fellow pros welcomed you back?

AC: Everyone in the golf, they are my friends. All the guys have been helpful, they are happy to see me back and made me feel comfortable. Ernie Els and Gary Player sent me letters while I was in prison. That meant so much to me.

GWK: Do you expect to be welcomed back to play at the Masters in April?

AC: Why not? What do you think?

GWK: You are a past champion so I don’t see why not.

AC: Why do you ask me that question? If I can’t play, I will not play. I’ve already won the Green Jacket.

GWK: What are your goals in the game of golf?

AC: Win everything that I can win.

GWK: Is there anything your game lost?

AC: Yes, the short game is a little tricky right now but it will come back.

This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Angel Cabrera opens up on the past (‘I was in a dark place’) and the future (‘I want to win everything’)