The ongoing golfing rehabilitation of Ángel Cabrera – who spent two years in prison in Argentina for domestic abuse – has seen him arrive back to Augusta National as a former winner, having won his first event on the Champions Tour in Sunday’s James Hardie Pro Football Hall of Fame tournament in Florida.
A two-time Majors champion, including the 2009 Masters, Cabrera was imprisoned for threats and harassment against two of his ex-girlfriends and released from prison on parole in August 2023 before being allowed return to play on the Champions Tour.
Of that time, a contrite Cabrera said: “I am repentant and embarrassed. I made serious mistakes. I refused to listen to anyone and did what I wanted, how I wanted and when I wanted. That was wrong ... [they] had the bad luck of crossing paths with me when I was at my worst. I wasn’t the devil, but I did bad things.”
Cabrera has not played the Masters since 2019, when he missed the cut.
‘I wasn’t the devil, but I did bad things’: Contrite Ángel Cabrera back at the Masters after jail time
Echoes of Hurricane Helene at Augusta as stormy weather halts Masters practice round
Scourge of slow play likely to rear its ugly head again at Masters
Masters 2025: Tee times, TV details, weather forecast, players to watch
Masters tickets? It could be you
Want to go to the Masters?
Although tickets sold out in jig time, the tournament offers an opportunity for public sale – including to those internationally, including Ireland – through the Augusta National Golf Club’s lottery system.
Applications for 2026 tickets have not opened yet, but to be considered for the random selection process, the advice is to open an account at masters.com, then click “more” and “tickets” to register an interest.
Those registered will receive an email when the online ticket application goes live.
Death of Peter McEvoy
Peter McEvoy – a three-time participant in the Masters who opted to remain amateur throughout his career, which also included becoming one of golf’s finest golf course architects – has died aged 72, after struggling with cancer.
“We have lost one of amateur golf’s most respected figures with the passing of Peter McEvoy. Peter was dedicated to the amateur game, choosing not to turn professional, and will be widely missed across the golf world,” said R&A chief executive Mark Darbon.
McEvoy won the Amateur Championship twice (in 1977 and 1978) and played on five Walker Cup teams. He also captained winning GB&I Walker Cup teams in 1999 and 2001. McEvoy also made the cut in the 1978 Masters (finishing tied-53rd).
His legacy will also include notable golf course design contributions, including a large number of Irish courses, among them Fota Island, Rathsallagh, Powerscourt (East), New Forest, Seafield and Coolattin.
Word of Mouth
“It’s a TaylorMade of some sort. I’m not sure what all the letters and numbers on the bottom of it are, but it’s good” – Brian Harman on the new putter (a prototype TaylorMade Spider 5K-ZT), which he only put into his bag last Tuesday, in advance of winning the Valero Texas Open. It’ll stay in the bag for the Masters.
By the Numbers: 5
Five amateurs are competing in this 89th edition of the Masters: Spain’s Josele Ballester earned his exemption in winning the US Amateur; Noah Kent, the runner-up to at Hazeltine, also earned a place in the field; Evan Beck claimed his place through winning the US Mid-Amateur, while Justin Hastings of the Cayman Islands won the Latin American Championship. Hiroshi Tai becomes the first player from Singapore to compete, having won the NCAA collegiate championships last year.
Social Swing
Forgot. I’m lucky contestant #39 – Michael Kim providing an addendum to a long social posting in which the debutant Masters participant provided an opening post which included rating the sandwiches available. The pimento got 7/10, the egg 7.5 and the bbq pork 8.5.
Vamos! – Sergio Garica is ready to go. Garcia, winner of the green jacket in 2017, ready for his 26th Masters appearance. The Spaniard is one of 12 LIV players in the 95-field.
Had a certain colour on my mind today. On to Augusta – Vijay Singh posting a photograph of him wearing green, having completed his swing. Unfortunately, the Fijian was forced to withdraw from the Masters on Monday, citing injury.
In the Bag
Brian Harman – Valero Texas Open
Driver: Titleist TSi2 (9 degrees)
3-wood: Titleist TS2 (13.5 degrees)
5-wood: Titleist TS2 (16.5 degrees)
Irons: Titleist U-500 (4, 5), Titleist T100 (6), Titleist 620 CB (7-PW)
Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM9 (50 and 54 degrees), WedgeWorks (60 degrees)
Putter: TaylorMade Spider 5K-ZT
Ball: Titleist Pro V1
Know the Rules
In the final round of the 2003 Masters, Jeff Maggert started the final round with a two-stroke advantage over Canadian left-hander Mike Weir.
His quest for a breakthrough Major, though, started to unravel with a rules incident on the Par 4 third hole where he drove into a fairway bunker and, in playing out, his ball ricocheted off the lip of the trap and rebounded to hit him in the chest. That infraction resulted in a two-stroke penalty and a triple-bogey seven that meant he lost the lead and, eventually, finished in tied-fifth.
That ruling was deemed to be a harsh one and is no longer part of the Rules of Golf. If it were to happen now, there would be no penalty. Under Rule 11.1, there is no penalty if you accidentally hit yourself with your ball. This rule has been modernised to also include that there is no penalty if you hit your equipment, your caddie, your opponent, your opponent’s equipment, etc, so that you play the ball as it lies, for better or worse.
