For the first time since 2019, Angel Cabrera is set to appear at the Masters Tournament.
And if the 2009 green jacket winner is trepid about his return to the Tuesday Champions Dinner, according to Ben Crenshaw, the Argentinean shouldn’t be.
“I tell you what, I’m excited to see Angel,” Crenshaw said Friday evening at the annual Imagine Muny gala in Austin, Texas. “The focus of the dinner will be on Scottie (Scheffler), but it’ll be great to have Angel back.”
Gentle Ben has moderated the Champions Dinner since 2005, and kicks off each gathering with themed remarks.
Last year, the group toasted the late Seve Ballesteros on what would’ve been his 67th birthday. This April, Crenshaw said he’ll welcome Cabrera back to the table.
“I’m looking forward to seeing him,” Ben said.
Cabrera skipped the Masters during the pandemic years — 2020 and 2021 — before spending 30 months in a South American prison for domestic violence.
In 2024, Cabrera’s invite to the Masters went unused due to an expired Visa. He’s among the 91 golfers listed by the Augusta National Golf Club as invitees for the 2025 tournament.
Crenshaw, donning dark blue jeans and black cowboy boots, spoke Friday at Imagine Muny IV to raise money for Austin’s Lions Municipal Golf Course — the first desegregated municipal course south of the Mason-Dixon line.
“Just look around,” said Crenshaw, pointing at the packed gathering at ACL’s Moody Theatre. “We’re all here for one reason: because of how much (Lions Municipal) means to our community.”
As a 12-year-old, Crenshaw made his first hole-in-one on Muny’s fifth hole. Two days later, he aced No. 11.
Crenshaw shared his affection towards the 141 acres in West Austin, saying, “My mom would drop me off in the morning and we’d have putting contests all day. You know, Harvey Penick wanted us to compete. It was always a competition, so we’d play for a Coke.”
Crenshaw then turned his attention to the Masters, saying he plans to fly to Augusta on Monday, stay on the grounds Tuesday and Wednesday, before returning to Austin on Thursday.
It’ll mark his first voyage to Augusta since Hurricane Helene.
“I’m excited to see the course — to see what the tree-lines look like,” Gentle Ben said.
Crenshaw said he spoke with Augusta National Chairman Fred Ridley at the Texas vs. Florida football game on Nov. 9. Ridley, a Gator graduate, attended the game in Austin.
Gentle Ben confirmed that Augusta National’s 16th hole obtained severe tree and water damage.
“The damage was pretty bad,” Crenshaw said. “But no place can rebuild like Augusta National.”
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Masters 2025: Angel Cabrera set to make appearance at Augusta National
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