Angel Cabrera will NOT play The Masters after the 2009 champion's US visa was denied following the 54-year-old's 30-month prison sentence in Argentina for domestic violence

Past Masters champion Angel Cabrera, who spent 30 months in prison for domestic violence, will not play at Augusta National this year after his US visa request was denied. 

The Argentine was released from prison in August 2023 after serving consecutive sentences for domestic violence and assault and other charges after ex-wife Silva Rivadero and two of his ex-girlfriends filed charges against him. 

As the 2009 Masters winner, the 54-year-old is eligible to compete in the major field as is the right of every past champion. 

However, he has been listed on the tournament's website as 'a past champion, not playing,' with his agent confirming that Cabrera's US visa application has been temporarily declined, denying him entry to the country.

'More information has been requested and will be provided to the embassy shortly. Final decision on the visa will take no less than 8 to 10 weeks. He will not be at The Masters,' Cabrera's longtime agent, Manuel Tagle told Golfweek.

Angel Cabrera will not play The Masters this year after his visa was temporarily declined 

He won the 2009 Masters after a three-way playoff against Kenny Perry and Chad Campbell

The former Masters champion was released from prison after 30 months last August 

Augusta National Golf Club chairman Fred Ridley, speaking at the Latin America Amateur Championship in Panama in January, had insisted that Cabrera would be welcomed back reliant on visa approval. 

'Angel certainly is one of our great champions,' Ridley said. 'As we all know, he has been unable to participate in the Masters the last couple of years due to legal issues. 

'Presently we have been in constant contact with Angel's representatives. He presently is not able to enter the United States. He doesn't have a visa, and I know that that process is being worked through. We certainly wish him the best of luck with that, and we'll definitely welcome him back if he's able to straighten out those legal issues.' 

In 2021, former girlfriend Cecilia Torres Mana first made accusations of assault, intimidation and causing injuries against Cabrera. 

Cabrera denied the accusations but his former wife, Rivadero, and former partner Micaela Escudero, also filed charges.

The 2007 US Open winner was arrested by Brazil's federal police on an Interpol warrant in January 2021 and spent six months in a Brazilian prison before being extradited to his homeland.

After being extradited to Argentina in June 2021, he stood trial on charges of assault, theft, illegal intimidation and repeated disrespect to authorities. 

He was found guilty of assault against Torres Mana during the time they were together from 2016 to 2018 and began serving a two-year sentence immediately after the verdict. 

Cabrera is led into custody after his extradition to Argentina from Brazil in June 2021

The professional golfer holds his head in his hands while on trial in Argentina in 2021

In November 2022, he was sentenced to another two years and four months for the assault of his other ex-partner, Escudero. He served both sentences concurrently.

Following his release from jail, Cabrera said his memories of his Masters triumph helped him get through his sentence. 

'I remember nearly every strokes of that Sunday I won the Masters and would replay it in my mind: the playoff, the famous shot I made through the trees,' he told Golf Digest.

'It's my dream to return to that prestigious place and walk the course that gave me so much joy and satisfaction,' he said, calling it like a second home. 'It would be a great privilege to return and to attend the Champions Dinner with so many of the golf world's greatest players.'

He competed in his first PGA Tour Champions event in Morocco last month, finishing T-27 after being reinstated to the tour and the PGA Tour in December.