BETHESDA, Md.—Ángel Cabrera took home the trophy from the Senior PGA Championship at Congressional Country Club outside of Washington on May 25, becoming the first golfer to win two major tournaments in the same week.
“I’m just so proud and so happy,” Cabrera told The Epoch Times after he won. “Honestly, this really means a lot to me.”
He also emerged victorious on Monday at the Regions Traditions—one of the five recognized majors on the Champions Tour—at Greystone Golf and Country Club in Alabama.
The most recent tournament came down to the wire, with Cabrera, in the last grouping, clinching the win on his final putt.
Holding a two-shot lead on the final hole, the par-four 18th, his drive drifted right and landed beyond the cart path with a poor lie that was half grass, half mud.
A tree obstructed Cabrera’s line of flight, the long, undulating green was guarded by a water hazard on the left and bunkers on the right, and the hole was cut in the back, making the approach perilous.
Without a moment of hesitation, he surveyed the situation, staring down the most consequential shot of the tournament, swung his club, and lofted the ball high over the tree, landing it safely on the front of the green.
Three putts later, he was lofting the trophy.
Cabrera battled rough conditions all four days, with rain on Thursday and windy conditions throughout the tournament.
“It was tough out there,” he said. “The course played hard.”
Several players told The Epoch Times over the course of the week that the greens were challenging, the course was difficult, and the weather made it even harder to score low.
“It was really coming down out there,” Clark Dennis, a longtime professional now on the Legends Tour with seven wins worldwide, said of the heavy rains that fell as he was playing the 12th hole on Thursday. “I was trying to put my gear on to stay dry and warm, and the wind was just howling.”
Four golfers, including Cabrera, began the final day with a share of the lead at five-under par. The 55-year-old from Argentina—winner of the 2007 U.S. Open and the Masters in 2009—had a rocky start, bogeying the second and fourth holes, but he sandwiched the two with a birdie on the third.
He then blasted a driver on the par-five sixth hole, while his playing partner Retief Goosen and many other golfers opted for a safer three-wood off the tee to take a hazard out of play.
The decision set Cabrera up to reach the green in two shots, and he made the putt for eagle. He then drove the green on the par-four sixth hole and made birdie.
Cabrera finished with a three-under 69 on Sunday, taking his total to eight-under for the week and notching his third win of the season.
Padraig Harrington and Thomas Bjorn tied for second, one stroke behind.
Harrington was cruising at seven-under for the day and held a three-shot lead with four holes to play. But he ran into trouble on the par-five 15th hole and carded a double bogey after hitting his drive into thick fescue.
A four-foot putt for par on the 18th green that he missed after lingering over for several minutes proved his undoing.
The 380-acre setting for the drama, the historic Congressional Club, is known as one of the most prestigious in the country, renowned for its history and elite membership.
It was founded in 1921 by Indiana Republican congressmen Oscar E. Bland and O.R. Luhring. Former Presidents Herbert Hoover, William H. Taft, Woodrow Wilson, Warren G. Harding, and Calvin Coolidge were all founding members, as were John D. Rockefeller and Walter Chrysler, among others.
Built in the style of a Spanish Colonial villa, the expansive clubhouse is the largest in the nation, with an indoor pool, bowling alley, ballroom, guest rooms, and multiple dining venues.
Outdoor pools and terraces sport views overlooking the immaculately kept grounds.
The hallowed halls, lined with memorabilia and historical documents, double as a national museum.
Autographed photos of Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, and other golfers are interspersed with presidential signatures from Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton, Barack Obama, and Gerald Ford.
Five more professional tournaments are planned for the venue, including the women’s PGA Championship in 2027 and the men’s PGA Championship in 2029. The Ryder Cup is coming to Congressional in 2036.
