CONGRATULATIONS TO ANGEL CABRERA, winner of the 2009 Masters. In the most thrilling Sunday finish at Augusta National Golf Club in years, the Argentine veteran simply would not give up.
When Kenny Perry hit an 8-iron to within inches of the hole on the 16th, Angel coaxed in a slick, left-to-right birdie putt from behind the hole to stay within two shots of Perry’s lead.
“I told my caddie, you know, ‘It’s a birdie against a bogey, two holes left, I still have a good chance,’” Angel said.
After Perry made bogeys at 17 and 18, Cabrera needed a little magic from his putter to get into a sudden-death playoff with Perry and Chad Campbell.
“On 18, I knew it was a straight putt,” he said. “I just had to make a good roll.”
Angel was apparently done when he knocked his 3-metal into the woods right of the 18th fairway on the first playoff hole. Cabrera’s 4-iron shot caromed off a tree into the fairway, and he landed a wedge close enough for another nerve-jangling par save that kept him alive.
When Campbell exited after missing a four-foot par putt, Perry and Cabrera moved on to the 10th hole where the man nicknamed “El Pato” (The Duck) won the playoff with a routine par.
Afterwards, Cabrera remembered fellow countryman Roberto De Vicenzo, who lost the 1968 Masters when he signed an incorrect scorecard.
“First, De Vicenzo had bad luck. He had a bad moment. It’s not going to change what happened to him.” Then he added, “This win, to take back to Argentina, it’s going to help a lot with our game.”
Cabrera File
Turned pro: 1989
Birthplace: Cordoba, Argentina
World ranking: 18
International wins: 17
PGA Tour wins: 2
Major wins: 2
Equipment: PING
−The Armchair Golfer
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Tough break for Perry. He’s too good of a guy to lose like that. But that’s golf.
One of the best Masters I’ve seen in years. Too bad so many played so well and all of them but one had to lose.
Perry has had his chances and blew them
No reason for him to have bogeyed the last 2 holes
He had it in his hand and let it slip
He missed birdies ALL DAY
Definitely not Perry’s best game. Wonder what was off. Oh well, better luck next time.
Kenny admitted to being nervous at the end, and it affected his chip on 17, which he skulled.
He said he hit a good drive on 18 that hooked a little more and went a little farther than he expected. If he hadn’t been in the fairway bunker, he would have had a better chance of getting his second shot on the green and two-putting for the win.
But who knows?
It’s tough to win a Green Jacket. You have to hold it together for all 72 holes.