Argentine Golf Major Winner Cabrera Arrested in Rio de Janeiro

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Argentine golfer Angel Cabrera, a two-time major winner, was arrested in Brazil on Thursday, January 14th, in connection with assault charges leveled against him in his homeland, police and diplomats said.

A federal police statement about the arrest on suspicion of crimes committed in Argentina between 2016 and 2020 did not name Cabrera, but Argentine diplomats confirmed it was the golfer.

Consul Claudio Gutiérrez said Cabrera was taken to prison in a Rio suburb pending extradition proceedings.

The police statement was that a 51-year-old Argentine who was on the Interpol red list was detained at an apartment in Rio’s Leblon district.

It was not immediately possible to contact Cabrera or any of his representatives.

Known as El Pato, Cabrera won the 2007 U.S. Open Championship and the 2009 Masters and is currently a member of the PGA Champions tour, with his last tournament appearance coming at the PURE Insurance Championship in September 2020.

The PGA tour lists his total career earnings as $14,761,614.