Profile / Ralph Ellis / 14 April 2009 / Leave a Comment

Ralph Ellis muses on the possibility of Cabrera lifting another of the big trophies this year.

It was Andre Agassi back in a 1990 camera advert who said "image is everything". That was the year Angel Cabrera turned pro, but it was a message that was clearly lost on him. The new Masters champion is a triumph for substance over style.

Cabrera doesn't do the gym and won't win any style awards even in that green jacket. He's a stone or three overweight, and clearly ignores the salad bar at an all-you-can eat buffet. And that raises a curious question, because are the rest of us still more concerned with image than with reality?

The 39-year-old Argentine's triumph at Augusta was his second major in two years, following on the 2007 US Open. It's a record which says he now has the mentality as well as the game to contend at the top tournaments. And yet, have a look down the betting list for the remaining Majors this year and you have to search for his name.

For this year's US Open which is barely two months away you can back Cabrera at [44.0]. When it comes The Open at Turnberry he's available anywhere between a back of [50.0] and a lay of [240.0]. And by the time it's August and the USPGA is being held at Hazeltine in Minnesota, Cabrera's price ranges from [80.0] to [130.0].

Okay so Tiger Woods is bound to be favourite for all three tournaments. He showed on Sunday that he won't be far from returning to his very best form as he gets his game back together after that injury. And Phil Mickelson blossomed thanks to renewing his rivalry with the world number one. But the great left-hander has now won only one more major in his career than Cabrera and yet is second favourite for the US Open at [13.0].

Cabrera has always had a reputation for choking from early in his career, when several times he began tournaments blazing a trail only to fade away when the pressure got big on the final day. But he's now handled that twice, and the fact he could keep his composure after smacking his ball into a tree on the first play-off hole at Augusta should be evidence enough that he has now conquered those nerves.

Significantly he's starting to believe himself that he belongs among the big players. His swing coach Charlie Elps put together a video before Augusta to show him the putts he made to hold off a charging Tiger and Jim Furyk in that 2007 US Open at Oakmont. And he's told today's papers: "The US Open win took me by surprise, but this time I'm more aware of how things happen."

All of that tells you that when the next big tournaments come round, Cabrera will be a contender again. Back him now at those silly long prices, and there will inevitably come a chance to bank some profit in the months to come.

Five things you might not know about Angel Cabrera...

1. Born in a Cordoba slum, he had to leave school aged ten and started work as a caddie before being allowed to play every Monday on the middle class Cordoba Golf Club

2. He's nicknamed the Duck because of his huge feet - he couldn't afford shoes when he was growing up

3. He's also nicknamed the cat by the Argentine press for the way he prowls the fairways. In Spanish that's "El Gato", and famously he was once asked by a French journalist why he was called The Cake

4. When he won the 2007 US Open he recorded two of only eight under-par rounds in the tournament

5. He's one of the longest hitters on tour - but during the 2007 PGA Championship at Wentworth topped a drive that only went 50 yards

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