Angel Cabrera wins James Hardie Pro Football Hall of Fame Invitational, ending 10-year, 8-month drought

By Craig Dolch
Courtesy of The Palm Beach Post

Angel Cabrera did something Sunday he hasn’t done in 3,927 days: Lift a trophy for winning a PGA Tour-sanctioned event.

The two-time major champion ended a 10-year, eight-month winless drought with a two-shot victory over K.J. Choi in the inaugural James Hardie Pro Football Hall of Fame Invitational at Broken Sound Club.

Cabrera lost a four-shot lead, but the  55-year-old Argentinian birdied the 17th hole to shoot 1-under 71 and hold off a charging Choi for his first victory in 26 starts on the PGA Tour Champions. Cabrera made a routine par on the par-4 18th hole of the Old Course, the most difficult of the week with a 4.5 scoring average, to clinch the win at 11-under 205.

Cabrera is best known for winning the 2007 U.S. Open at Oakmont and the 2009 Masters, but this was his first win in a Tour-sanctioned event since capturing the Greenbriar Classic on July 6, 2014. His career was derailed in 2021 when he spent two years in prison in Argentina after being convicted of assault and other charges.

“It’s very emotional after everything that I’ve gone through the last couple years,” Cabrera said. “Winning again is something that means a lot to me. Obviously, it was a hard battle out there.”

Cabrera seemed to have the title in hand when he stretched his lead from two shots to start the round to four after five holes. He led by three with four holes left, but a two-shot swing at the par-4 15th – Choi birdied and Cabrera bogeyed – trimmed his lead to one. Choi pulled even with a birdie at the par-5 16th.

Cabrera used an iron off the 17th tee, and the strategy paid off when his approach led to a 3-foot birdie that gave him the lead again.

“I hit a great shot into 17, leaving it very close,” Cabrera said.

Cabrera entered the week as the second alternate, getting a spot after Mark Hensby withdrew. Cabrera leaves this week’s tournament with confidence as he returns to the Masters for the first time since 2019. While he soon will be heading to Augusta for the tournament that starts on Thursday, he wanted to savor Sunday’s victory.

“Right now, I want to enjoy this,” Cabrera said. “I’ll be at the Masters walking every hole, but I’m going to enjoy this now.”