Ángel Cabrera facts for kids

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Quick facts for kids Ángel Cabrera
Cabrera in 2007
Personal information
Full name	Ángel Leopoldo Cabrera
Nickname	El Pato (The Duck)
Born	(1969-09-12) 12 September 1969 (age 55) Córdoba, Argentina
Height	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Weight	210 lb (95 kg; 15 st)
Nationality	Argentina
Residence	Córdoba, Argentina
Children	2
Career
Turned professional	1989
Current tour(s)	European Senior Tour
Former tour(s)	PGA Tour European Tour Tour de las Américas TPG Tour
Professional wins	54
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour	3
European Tour	5
Asian Tour	1
European Seniors Tour	1
Other	47
Best results in Major Championships (Wins: 2)
The Masters Tournament	Won: 2009
U.S. Open	Won: 2007
The Open Championship	T4: 1999
PGA Championship	T19: 2000

Ángel Leopoldo Cabrera (born 12 September 1969) is a professional golfer from Argentina. He has played on both the European Tour and PGA Tour. People often call him "El Pato" in Spanish, which means "The Duck". This nickname comes from the way he walks.

Ángel Cabrera is famous for winning two major golf championships. He won the U.S. Open in 2007 and the Masters in 2009. He was the first golfer from Argentina and South America to win either of these big tournaments. In 2013, he almost won the Masters again, but lost in a sudden-death playoff.

Ángel Cabrera's Early Life and Golf Journey

Ángel Cabrera was born in Córdoba, Argentina. When he was 10 years old, he started working as a caddy at the Córdoba Country Club. A caddy helps golfers by carrying their clubs and giving advice. He learned to play golf by competing against other caddies for small amounts of money.

Ángel quickly showed he was a very determined player with a powerful swing. A club member named Juan Cruz Molina noticed his talent. When Ángel was 16, Molina bought him his first set of golf clubs. This was a big step for him to become a professional golfer.

His Family and Golf

Ángel Cabrera has two sons, Federico and Ángel. Both of them have also become professional golfers. Federico started playing professionally in 2008. Ángel Jr. became a professional in 2012 and joined the Canadian Tour. Ángel Cabrera and his sons sometimes play together on the PGA Tour Latinoamérica.

Becoming a Professional Golfer

Ángel Cabrera became a professional golfer when he was 20. He tried several times to join the European Tour, which is a major golf tour. In 1995, he finally qualified for the European Tour.

Success on the European Tour

Cabrera played well in his first few years on the European Tour. In 1999, he finished tenth on the Order of Merit, which ranks players based on their earnings. He often finished in the top 15 players on the tour. His best ranking was fifth in 2005.

His first win on the European Tour was the 2001 Argentine Open. In 2005, he won the BMW Championship. This is one of the most important events on the European Tour, besides the major championships.

Ángel Cabrera reached his highest ranking in the Official World Golf Ranking in 2005, at 9th place. He was the top-ranked golfer from Latin America for many years. In 2006, he earned enough money on the PGA Tour to become a full-time player there starting in 2007.

Winning Major Golf Championships

Ángel Cabrera is known for winning two of golf's biggest tournaments, called "majors."

Winning the 2007 U.S. Open

Cabrera won his first major championship at the 2007 U.S. Open. This tournament was held at Oakmont Country Club in Pennsylvania. He finished the tournament with a score of 5-over par. He beat famous golfers like Tiger Woods and Jim Furyk by just one shot.

Cabrera started the final day a few shots behind the leaders. But he played very well on the last day. He made a great birdie putt on a very long hole, which helped him secure his victory. This win made him the first Argentine player to ever win the U.S. Open. He was also the second Argentine to win any major, after Roberto De Vicenzo won the British Open in 1967. For his achievement, he received the Olimpia de Oro (Golden Olympia) as Argentina's top sportsperson of 2007.

Winning the 2009 Masters Tournament

Cabrera won the Masters Tournament in 2009. This is another very famous major championship. He won in a sudden-death playoff against two American golfers, Chad Campbell and Kenny Perry.

In the playoff, he first eliminated Chad Campbell. Then, on the second playoff hole, he made a par to defeat Kenny Perry. This made him the first Argentine golfer to win the Masters. At the time, he was ranked 69th in the world, making him the lowest-ranked golfer to win the Masters.

Other Notable Performances

2011 Masters: In 2011, Cabrera was close to winning his second Green Jacket at Augusta. He was in the final group on Sunday and even tied for the lead at one point. He finished in seventh place, which was his best major finish since his 2009 win.
2013 Masters: At the 2013 Masters, Cabrera was again in the final group on Sunday. He played very well and made a crucial putt on the 18th hole to force a playoff with Adam Scott. They went to a second playoff hole, where Scott made a birdie to win. It was a very close finish.
2014 Greenbrier Classic: In 2014, Cabrera won the Greenbrier Classic in West Virginia. This was his first PGA Tour win that wasn't a major championship. He shot very low scores on the weekend to secure the victory.

Team Golf Career

Ángel Cabrera has also represented his country and played on international teams.

He was part of the International team in the Presidents Cup four times: in 2005, 2007, 2009, and 2013.
He also played for Argentina in the Alfred Dunhill Cup and the World Cup.

Professional Wins (Selected)

Ángel Cabrera has won many professional golf tournaments throughout his career. Here are some of his notable wins:

PGA Tour Wins (3)

Legend
Major championships (2)
Other PGA Tour (1)

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning score	To par	Margin of victory	Runner(s)-up
1	17 Jun 2007	U.S. Open	69-71-76-69=285	+5	1 stroke	Jim Furyk, Tiger Woods
2	12 Apr 2009	Masters Tournament	68-68-69-71=276	−12	Playoff	Chad Campbell, Kenny Perry
3	6 July 2014	Greenbrier Classic	68-68-64-64=264	−16	2 strokes	George McNeill

European Tour Wins (5)

Legend
Major championships (2)
Flagship events (1)
Other European Tour (2)

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning score	To par	Margin of victory	Runner(s)-up
1	1 Apr 2001	Open de Argentina¹	67-65-69-67=268	−12	2 strokes	Carl Pettersson
2	12 May 2002	Benson & Hedges International Open	68-73-68-69=278	−10	1 stroke	Barry Lane
3	29 May 2005	BMW Championship	70-70-66-67=273	−15	2 strokes	Paul McGinley
4	17 Jun 2007	U.S. Open	69-71-76-69=285	+5	1 stroke	Jim Furyk, Tiger Woods
5	12 Apr 2009	Masters Tournament	68-68-69-71=276	−12	Playoff	Chad Campbell, Kenny Perry

¹Co-sanctioned by the PGA of Argentina Tour

Asian Tour Wins (1)

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning score	To par	Margin of victory	Runner-up
1	4 Nov 2007	Barclays Singapore Open	71-63-70-72=276	−8	1 stroke	Vijay Singh

PGA Tour Latinoamérica Wins (2)

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning score	To par	Margin of victory	Runner(s)-up
1	16 Dec 2012	Visa Open de Argentina	65-70-71-64=270	−18	4 strokes	Miguel Ángel Carballo, Óscar Fraustro
2	21 Apr 2013	Abierto OSDE del Centro	72-72-76-64=284	E	Playoff	Rafael Gómez

Tour de las Américas Wins (8)

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning score	To par	Margin of victory	Runner(s)-up
1	29 Nov 1999	Torneo de Maestros Telefónica	271	−13		Scott Dunlap, Fabian Montovia, Costantino Rocca
2	9 Dec 2001	Torneo de Maestros Telefónica (2)	66-65-72-69=272	−12	2 strokes	Eduardo Romero
3	1 Dec 2002	Abierto de Argentina	70-62-68-69=269	−11	4 strokes	José Cóceres
4	1 Feb 2004	Abierto del Sur¹	65-69-69-67=270	−10	1 stroke	Miguel Guzmán
5	6 Nov 2005	Torneo de Maestros¹ (3)	66-74-70-68=278	−6	3 strokes	Julio Zapata
6	15 Apr 2006	Abierto Visa del Centro¹	68-67-70-70=275	−9	Playoff	Eduardo Romero
7	15 Apr 2007	Abierto Visa del Centro²	66-75-73-65=279	−5	2 strokes	Raúl Fretes
8	27 Oct 2007	Torneo de Maestros² (4)	68-73-71-65=277	−7	Playoff	Ricardo González

¹Co-sanctioned by the PGA of Argentina Tour
²Co-sanctioned by the TPG Tour

TPG Tour Wins (4)

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning score	To par	Margin of victory	Runner-up
1	15 Apr 2007	Abierto Visa del Centro¹	66-75-73-65=279	−5	2 strokes	Raúl Fretes
2	27 Oct 2007	Torneo de Maestros¹	68-73-71-65=277	−7	Playoff	Ricardo González
3	22 Dec 2012	Ángel Cabrera Classic	70-68-66-71=275	−13	6 strokes	Ricardo González
4	14 Dec 2013	Ángel Cabrera Classic (2)	72-62-69-67=270	−18	Playoff	Miguel Ángel Carballo

European Senior Tour Wins (1)

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning score	To par	Margin of victory	Runner-up
1	16 Jun 2024	Paul Lawrie Matchplay	3 and 1			James Kingston

Major Championship Results

Here's a summary of Ángel Cabrera's performances in the major championships.

Wins (2)

Year	Championship	54 holes	Winning score	Margin	Runners-up
2007	U.S. Open	4 shot deficit	+5 (69-71-76-69=285)	1 stroke	Jim Furyk, Tiger Woods
2009	Masters Tournament	Tied for lead	−12 (68-68-69-71=276)	Playoff¹	Chad Campbell, Kenny Perry

¹Defeated Kenny Perry and Chad Campbell in a sudden-death playoff: Cabrera (4-4), Perry (4-5) and Campbell (5).

Results Timeline

Tournament	1997	1999
Masters Tournament
U.S. Open
The Open Championship	T51	T4
PGA Championship		T41

Tournament	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009
Masters Tournament	CUT	T10	T9	T15	CUT	CUT	T8	T37	T25	1
U.S. Open	T37	T7	T66	T35	16	T33	T26	1	CUT	T54
The Open Championship	CUT	CUT	CUT	T22		CUT	7	34	CUT	T24
PGA Championship	T19	T37	T48	T45	CUT		CUT	CUT	T20	T63

Tournament	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018
Masters Tournament	T18	7	T32	2	CUT	T22	T24	CUT	CUT
U.S. Open	T22	CUT	T46	CUT	CUT	T64	T37	CUT
The Open Championship	CUT	CUT	CUT	T11	T19
PGA Championship	CUT	CUT	CUT	WD	WD

Tournament	2019
Masters Tournament	CUT
PGA Championship
U.S. Open
The Open Championship

Win Top 10 Did not play WD = withdrew
CUT = missed the half way cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place.

Summary of Major Championships

Tournament	Wins	2nd	Top-5	Top-10	Top-25	Events	Cuts made
Masters Tournament	1	1	2	6	11	20	13
PGA Championship	0	0	0	0	2	15	7
U.S. Open	1	0	1	2	4	18	13
The Open Championship	0	0	1	2	6	16	8
Totals	2	1	4	10	23	69	41

Most consecutive cuts made – 7 (2008 PGA – 2010 U.S. Open)
Longest streak of top-10s – 2 (2001 Masters – 2001 U.S. Open)

Results in Other Important Tournaments

The Players Championship

Tournament	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009
The Players Championship	T26	T36	CUT		CUT	CUT		CUT	T14

Tournament	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015
The Players Championship	CUT	T41	WD	T55	T38	WD

Did not play CUT = missed the half-way cut
WD = withdrew
"T" indicates a tie for a place.

World Golf Championships

Tournament	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2013	2014
Match Play		R64		R64	R32		R32	R32	R64	QF	R64	R64
Championship	T25	T17	NT¹	T36		T16	T18	T26	T19	WD		T50
Invitational				T19	T23	T4	T41	T4	T69	T36	T4	T33	T38	T31
Champions

¹Cancelled due to 9/11
Top 10 Did not play QF, R16, R32, R64 = Round in which player lost in match play
"T" = tied
NT = No tournament
Note that the HSBC Champions did not become a WGC event until 2009.

Senior Major Championships

Tournament	2020	2024
The Tradition	NT
Senior PGA Championship	NT
U.S. Senior Open	NT
Senior Players Championship	T70	T17
Senior British Open Championship	NT	T5

Top 10 Did not play "T" indicates a tie for a place
NT = No tournament due to COVID-19 pandemic