It was a “quiet” scene Tuesday at the annual Masters Champions Dinner in honor of 2024 victor Scottie Scheffler.
In an evening that paid tribute to Scheffler, 28, and two-time Masters champion Bernhard Langer, who is teeing it up for the final time at Augusta this week, the gathering of victors also featured the return of Angel Cabrera, now two years removed from imprisonment stemming from assaults against ex-partners.
“It was a quiet dinner — quieter than normal,” said Tommy Aaron, the 1973 Masters champion, according to Golfweek. “[Moderator Ben] Crenshaw welcomed Angel Cabrera back to the table, and also paid tribute to Bernhard for his last Masters. But neither Angel or Bernhard spoke.”
Cabrera, who won his first and only green jacket in 2009, spent 30 months behind bars in South America and was released in 2023.
When asked Tuesday what warranted his return to Augusta, the 55-year-old cited his previous win and replied, “Why not?”
Cabrera, the 2007 U.S. Open winner, then expanded on taking advantage of second chances.
“Life has given me another opportunity,” he said. “I’ve got to take advantage of that and do the right things in this second opportunity. Obviously, I regret things that happened, and you learn from them.”
Cabrera, who hails from Argentina, will play the first two rounds in a grouping that includes Laurie Canter of England and American Adam Schenk.
They tee off at 10:59 a.m. on Thursday and will open the second round at 7:51 a.m. on Friday.
Meanwhile, Scheffler’s quest for back-to-back Masters titles begins at 10:15 a.m. on Thursday, when he’ll compete alongside American Justin Thomas and Jose Luis Ballester, an amateur from Spain. His second round begins Friday at 1:23 p.m.
Scheffler was accompanied to Tuesday’s dinner by his wife, Meredith, who skipped last year’s tournament as she readied to give birth to the couple’s first child.
Scheffler announced son Bennett’s birth in May.
