No, we’re not back in the 1960’s when pro golfers regularly puffed cigarettes on television under the stress of tournament competition. That’s new U.S. Open champion Angel Cabrera of Argentina on the left enjoying a quick smoke with his caddie this past Sunday. Golf Digest’s Jaime Diaz provides this timely and excellent profile of Cabrera, which includes this observation about Cabrera by longtime Houston golf professional, Charlie Epps:

Charlie Epps, a Houston-based teaching professional who lived in the small Argentine city of Villa Allende in the 1980s and met Cabrera when he was as a young caddie at the Cordoba GC, believes that Cabrera’s problems with keeping his composure stem from a deep-seated anger rooted in growing up in an impoverished broken home. “I remember that when he started playing he really had a temper–he just couldn’t handle bad shots–and that hurt him as a tournament player for a long time,” says Epps. “He’s a wonderful guy who had a lot of issues because of a very tough childhood, and with time he’s learned to overcome the them”

Meanwhile, Stu Mulligan over at the Waggle Room passes along more information about Cabrera in this interview with longtime Champions Tour pro Eduardo Romero, who is also from Argentina and is one of Cabrera’s sponsors.
Although not well-known outside of golf circles until this past weekend, Cabrera has long had a serious golf game. He is one of the Tour’s longest hitters and an excellent ball-striker. A balky putter has been what has kept him from being a regular winner on the Tour. He sunk a few putts this past weekend and it was enough for him to take home his first major tournament trophy. As with late-bloomer Lee Trevino a generation ago, it may well not be Cabrera’s last.