Augusta (Georgia), April 13 (Inditop) As Angel Cabrera tapped in for glory at the Masters Sunday, the whole of Argentina will have celebrated the 39-year-old’s second Major triumph.
But the victory is likely to resonate with one man above all – Roberto de Vicenzo.
In 1968, nine months after he won the Open Championship, de Vicenzo should have been involved in a play-off with American Bob Goalby at the Masters.
But he accidentally signed for a four on the 17th hole, when in fact he had taken three, and under the rules he had to accept the higher score.
The mistake meant he ended up being runner-up. But Sunday night, Cabrera made amends in his own way when he beat Kenny Perry and Chad Campbell in a sudden-death play-off to add a Green Jacket to his 2007 US Open win.
“This is a great moment for any golfer, to win the Masters,” Cabrera said. “I’m so emotional I can barely talk.”
The tap-in putt at the 10th hole – the second extra hole – prompted a huge punch of celebration for Cabrera, a man who had to play golf as a teenager just to make ends meet.
As a struggling player in the mid-1990s, Cabrera was all set to throw in the towel after failing to earn his card to play on the European Tour.
He was helped by his fellow countryman Eduardo Romero, who loaned him the money to pay his expenses in 1995, and Cabrera went on to qualify.
Since then, the amiable Cabrera has gone from strength to strength, winning his first Major in 2007 at the US Open and now earning his first Masters Green Jacket.
De Vicenzo would undoubtedly be proud – and a little relieved.