Golf star makes 'emotional' return to Masters after prison time for abusing ex-girlfriends

Angel Cabrera will make his controversial return to the after winning his first Champions title. The 2009 champion was jailed for two years in Argentina for threats and harassment against two ex-girlfriends - Cecilia Torres Mana and Micaela Escudero - before his release in August 2023.

He was accused of "sexually, psychologically and physically abusing" the women but was cleared to return to the over-50s PGA Tour Champions later in 2023.

Now 55, Cabrera has won the James Hardie Pro Football Hall of Fame Invitational - and the £259,500 ($330,000) first prize - for his first win in over 10 years. "Everything I've gone through the last few years, being here, having a chance to win, is very emotional," he said. Cabrera also won the 2007 US Open and lost a 2013 playoff for a second title in Augusta.

With a lifetime exemption as a former winner, the Argentine will return to the Masters for the first time since 2019 and take his place at the Champions' Dinner despite opposition from women's rights groups. Augusta often refer to participants as "invitees" and would have the power to bar him if they wished to do so.

In contrasting treatment, LIV Golf rebel Phil Mickelson was told not to attend in 2022 following his controversial switch to the Saudi-backed breakaway tour. That has opened organisers to questions over where their priorities lie.

Speaking to the Telegraph, Jamie Klingler, the co-founder of Reclaim These Streets, said: "As long as male athletes can excel at hitting a ball, we excuse those same men hitting women. Because that trophy is valued more than his victim's life."

Some of Cabrera's colleagues are pleased to see him. Adam Scott, who won the Masters in 2013, said: "I'm thrilled he's going to be back joining us this year. I can't wait to see him. It's a happy thing for me."

Last year, chairman Fred Ridley hailed him as one of the tournament's "great champions" and insisted Augusta National would "definitely welcome him back".

Cabrera told Golf Digest in 2023: "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. I wasn't the devil, but I did bad things."

Meanwhile, the 2000 champion Vijay Singh, 62 has withdrawn with an undisclosed injury. There are now 95 players in the field.