2009 Masters champion Angel Cabrera’s inclusion in the 2025 Masters Tournament field hasn’t been well accepted in all quarters, and it wasn’t long into Augusta National Chairman Fred Ridley’s press conference on Wednesday before the issue arose.
“You mentioned obviously honoring past champions. I just wondered if you wanted to respond to some of the women’s rights groups who have criticized Cabrera’s appearance at the Masters this year,” asked a voice on the floor, and the Chairman was steadfast in his stance that Cabrera’s conviction and imprisonment didn’t alter the fact that he was a Masters winner and therefore worthy of invitation.
“We certainly abhor domestic violence of any type,” said Ridley. “As it relates to Angel, Angel has served the sentence that was prescribed by the Argentine courts, and he is the past champion, and so he was invited.”
Cabrera himself addressed reporters at Augusta National during a practice round the previous day ahead of his 21st Masters appearance, his first since 2019.
Speaking through an interpreter, Cabrera acknowledged the polarised views on his return, saying, “I respect their opinion, and everybody has their own opinion, and I respect that.” When pressed on whether he personally believes he belongs at Augusta given his criminal history, he replied with a succinct, “I won the Masters. Why not?”
“Life has given me another opportunity, I got to take advantage of that and I want to do the right things in this second opportunity,” he added.
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