Can two Majors be won in the same week? Ángel Cabrera (-8) demonstrated this Sunday that anything is possible in his redemption story and return to the golf courses. The 55-year-old Argentine claimed the Senior PGA Championship this Sunday at the always challenging Congressional Country Club. He surpassed Irishman Padraig Harrington (-7) and Dane Thomas Bjorn (-7) by a single stroke, marking his second Major in just six days after winning the Regions Tradition, which concluded a day late due to bad weather on Sunday.
The ‘Pato’ becomes the sixth player in history to win both the Regions and the Senior PGA Championship in the same season. Jack Nicklaus, Lee Trevino, Bernhard Langer, Alex Celjka and Steve Stricker preceded him in this feat.
A few holes earlier, everything pointed to the trophy heading to Ireland. Harrington seemed to have the tournament under control after sinking seven birdies in the first 14 holes and holding a two-stroke lead. However, nerves set in, as he himself admitted. A double bogey on the 15th, following a poor tee shot, changed the course of his round as Cabrera also made a birdie right after, going from two down to one up in minutes. The drama culminated on the iconic 18th hole of the Blue Course, where the Irishman missed a putt of barely a metre for par, an error that cost him the playoff.
“I just wanted him to two-putt… and he didn’t. My God…,” said Harrington as he watched Cabrera finish his round on the live broadcast, minutes after completing his own. “I’m disappointed, to be honest.”
Cabrera, for his part, didn’t have an easy day either. He started with par, bogey, birdie, bogey, par, and an eagle on the 6th hole, then played from 6 to 15 at five under par. He closed his day with two pars and a final bogey after missing a short putt for par on the 18th, but his total of eight under par was enough to seal his victory.
Since his return, the ‘Pato’ has already claimed three titles on the Champions Tour in the last seven weeks: he won the James Hardie Pro Football Hall of Fame Invitational in April (his first victory in almost 11 years), and last Monday he conquered the aforementioned Regions Tradition. The reality is that the Argentine, who was released from prison in August 2023 after serving a 30-month sentence in Brazil and Argentina for domestic violence, is turning his return to the golf courses into a story of sporting redemption.
“I thought I was going to fail, especially after being away from the clubs for so long,” confessed Cabrera, visibly emotional. “But I’ve worked very hard, and all that effort is paying off. I’m very happy with myself.”
With the victory, Cabrera also took home a prize of just over half a million dollars and solidified himself as the most in-form player on the senior circuit. There are still three Majors left to play this season, and he will undoubtedly be a contender.
Harrington, winner of the U.S. Senior Open in 2022 and with seven top-five finishes in Majors since then, will regret the missed putt on the 72nd hole for some time, although the key one was probably on the 15th: “I’ve been through this many times. I felt comfortable, maybe too much. That confidence has let me down at key moments throughout my career.”
Meanwhile, Miguel Ángel Jiménez (-11) came close to a new top ten in a major event, finishing with a solid round of 69 strokes. He reached the 16th hole at par for the day, but a great eagle on that hole and a birdie on the 72nd hole saw him gain ten positions to finish eleventh. Had he achieved it, it would have been his fifth top ten in six appearances in this tournament. Thanks to that final stretch, the Spaniard remains at the top of the Champions Tour Order of Merit.
