Angel Cabrera Masters return thwarted amid VISA application denial

After fighting to get into the 2024 Masters field, the 2009 green jacket winner, Angel Cabrera, will not play at Augusta National this year.

The Masters website updated the field on Wednesday, and Cabrera was listed as a previous champion who was not playing. He will not be able to take advantage of his eligibility because his VISA to enter the United States was temporarily declined.

“More information has been requested and will be provided to the embassy shortly. Final decision on the visa will take no less than 8 to 10 weeks. He will not be at The Masters,” Cabrera’s longtime agent, Manuel Tagle, wrote in an email to Golfweek.

Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images

Cabrera went to prison in 2021, after being convicted of domestic violence on multiple counts of threats and harassment. The two-time major winner was released in August of 2023.

He recently played in the Abierto del Litoral, or the Coast Open, in his home country of Argentina.

In December, the PGA Tour reinstated Cabrera to the Champions and PGA Tour so he could compete again.

Once he was back in the good graces of the PGA Tour, Cabrera played in the Morocco Champions Tour event in February. He finished T27 at that tournament.

At the Latin America Amateur Championship in Panama, Augusta National Golf Club Chairman Fred Ridley explained the situation.

“Angel certainly is one of our great champions,” Ridley said. “He has been unable to participate in the Masters the last couple of years due to legal issues. We have been in constant contact with Angel’s representatives.”

“He presently is not able to enter the United States. He doesn’t have a visa, and I know that that process is being worked through. We certainly wish him the best of luck with that, and we’ll welcome him back if he’s able to straighten out those legal issues.”

The last time he competed at Augusta National was in 2019 when Tiger Woods won.

This year’s field currently sits at 85 for the April 11-14, 2024 event.

Savannah Leigh Richardson is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. For more golf coverage, be sure to follow us @_PlayingThrough on all major social platforms. You can also follow her on Twitter @SportsGirlSL and Instagram @savannah_leigh_sports.