Angel Cabrera’s dream of returning to competitive golf received a boost on Tuesday when he was reinstated by the PGA Tour after serving a two-year prison sentence.
“I can confirm that Cabrera is eligible to compete on all Tours,” PGA Tour Champions spokesman Chris King wrote in an email.
Cabrera, 54, last played on PGA Tour Champions at the Pure Insurance Open in September 2020. The two-time major winner was released from jail on Aug. 4, after he completed more than two years in custody over gender violence cases against two of his ex-girlfriends.
“I thought about making a comeback the entire time I was in prison,” he told Golf Digest in an exclusive interview that ran in the December issue. “My goal is to prepare and play on the Champions Tour. When I’m out there competing, that’s when I’ll truly know if I can handle it physically at that level. Mentally, I’m already there. Golf is everything to me. It’s my life. I have to continue.”
Charlie Epps, Cabrera’s longtime instructor and close friend, confirmed that Cabrera had been suspended by the Tour in a previous Golfweek story. Just last month a Tour spokesman said, “The Tour is aware that Angel Cabrera has been released on parole. While we do not have any update on his status as a PGA Tour member at this time, the Tour may consider new and relevant information to determine if any change to his status is appropriate in the future.”
The Tour did not respond to a request asking what new and relevant information contributed to his change of status and whether Champions Tour chief Miller Brady made the decision or whether commissioner Jay Monahan, who oversees all tour’s in his role, weighed in on the status change.
Golf Digest cited a letter from Andy Levinson, a senior vice president at the PGA Tour, dated Dec. 18, which stated his suspension has been lifted effective immediately.
“Failure to comply with the terms of your release from prisoner any additional information regarding your legal situation in Argentina may result in the immediate reinstatement of your suspension,” Levinson wrote in a letter obtained by Golf Digest.
Cabrera is seeking a visa so he can travel to the U.S. It’s still unclear whether Augusta National will honor his lifetime invitation as a past champion to the Masters in April.
“It’s my dream to return to that prestigious place and walk the course that gave me so much joy and satisfaction,” Cabrera said, calling it like a second home. “It would be a great privilege to return and to attend the Champions Dinner with so many of the golf world’s greatest players.”
Cabrera’s reinstatement should pave the way for him to play in the Argentina Open in late February, which is a Korn Ferry Tour event for the first time. Cabrera made his return to competitive golf last week, finishing T-10 with three rounds in the 60s at Rosario Golf Club in Abierto del Litoral, or the Coast Open, a tournament that has been a fixture on the PGA Tour Latinoamerica Developmental Series.