Angel Cabrera was only known as a major winner on the American PGA Tour.
The likable Argentine player had never posted a non-major PGA win, but still brought plenty of clout to the final round of Sunday’s Greenbrier Classic with a 2007 U.S. Open win and a green jacket at the 2009 Masters.
Posting his second straight round of 64, Cabrera finished with a four-round 264 total to claim the Springhouse Trophy and the $ 1.17 million winner’s share of the $ 6.5 million event purse.
Cabrera trailed by two shots heading to the final round against third round leader Billy Hurley III, and when Hurley birdied the first hole Sunday to go up by three, it appeared the rest of the leader board would waltz into chase mode.
But Hurley, the popular U.S. Naval Academy graduate and non-winner on the tour, bogeyed four of his next five holes, then added three-putts at the 10th and 15th to doom any chance of his first victory.
Meanwhile, playing in a twosome on No.12 when Hurley and Cabrera teed off on the first hole at the Old White TPC, George McNeill was well on his way to shooting a 9-under 61 to head to the clubhouse to wait out the rest of the field.
Cabrera responded by maintaining his narrow margin before stunning the gallery on the par-4, 492-yard 13th hole, the toughest rated hole on The Old White. Cabrera, after a huge tee ball, sent an eight iron into the jar for a rare eagle-2. That restored his three shot lead and, despite bogeys at Nos. 15 and 16, finished birdie-par at 17 and 18 to secure the win.
In other memorable moments on Sunday, The Greenbrier owner Jim Justice dished out hundred dollar bills to an estimated 250 spectators on the signature Old White 176-yard par-3 18th when Bud Cauley aced the hole with a seven iron. The offer, in place since Wednesday’s Pro-Am, offered $ 100 to every spectator in the grandstands for the first hole-in-one, $ 500 for the second and $ 1,000 if three were made during the week on the final hole. It was the first hole-in-one on the 18th in Greenbrier Classic history.
Also Sunday, McNeill aced the par-3 eighth on his way to his 61. Eight-time major winner and Greenbrier pro emeritus Tom Watson finished with a 69, his third straight round in the 60s, to complete a four-round 276 total. The 64-year-old Watson is three-for-three in making the cut at The Greenbrier Classic. By comparison, Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods are a combined 0-for-4. Watson said he got ready for Sunday’s final round by bowling and playing croquet on Saturday afternoon.
Former Scott Robertson Memorial winner Webb Simpson finished third after a final-round 63.
– Bill Turner