April 10, 2006

He shines again

Angel Cabrera finished 8th, his best performance in Augusta

By Enrique César Lobos

Angel Cabrera recovered yesterday his leading role in a Grand Slam tournament when he finished 8th in the Masters Tournament, the first of the year and one of the most emotive.

After a difficult start which had him on the brink of classification, the 138 shots he scored in the two last rounds (nine less than in the first two) catapulted him to the top reaching the first five positions several times during the last round.

The winner was the left-hander Phil Mickelson, who at the age of 42, won his second title with a total of 281 shots and received USD 1,260.000 for the first prize.

Yesterday, “El Pato” Cabrera connected two consecutive birdies (hole 2 and 3) but he fell behind again with a bogey on the 4th hole and a double on the 5th . Then he was up again when he made 3 birdies on the following four holes (7, 8, and 10). He passed ¨The Amen Corner¨, pared with a bogey on the 11th and a birdie on the 13th and with a long putt he scored an eagle on the 15th. His bogey on the 16th and birdie on the 17th gave a final touch to his performance.

What makes his performance relevant is that he improved his game up in the green, 29 average per day and he scored a good percentage of greens in the four rounds.

Surely this eighth position has a special flavor for Cabrera as it places him again among the best in the world after a regular start in this season, without the amazing results of last year.

Now, in Holy Week, the Center Open in Argentina will take place and it will give us the opportunity to see in Villa Allende one of the top 10 of Augusta.

La Voz del Interior