2 golfers who served prison time to play in major 2025 championships

• Golfers Angel Cabrera and Ryan Peake, both of whom served prison time, will compete in major championships this year. Cabrera will play in the Masters, while Peake will hit the British Open.
• Cabrera, a former Masters champion, served two years in prison in his home country of Argentina after being convicted of domestic abuse.
• Peake, who won the New Zealand Open on Sunday, spent five years in jail for serious assault.

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Those who play golf know it can be a game of second chances. Miss a shot, and there’s always the next one. Play poorly one day, and the next day could be better. But for two professional golfers, Angel Cabrera and Ryan Peake, 2025 is about redemption of a different kind.

How did Angel Cabrera qualify to play in the Masters?

Cabrera, a two-time major champion, is set to return to Augusta National to play in this year’s Masters tournament. The event’s 2009 winner spent two years in prison for domestic abuse in his home country of Argentina. 

Speaking to Golf Digest in 2023 about the past few years, Cabrera said, “I am repentant and embarrassed. I made serious mistakes.”

Former Masters champions are invited to play at the event every year. However, between 2021 and 2024, the tournament officially listed Cabrera as “past champion not playing.” Cabrera has been in the U.S. since June 2024, playing on the over-55 Champions Tour.

What led to Ryan Peake’s comeback?

Peake has a different story, but it’s still about second chances. Ten years ago, he was a member of a biker gang in Australia. He was convicted of a serious assault charge when he was 21 and sent to prison for five years. 

While in prison, a coach who knew Peake as a promising youth player asked if he’d like to play competitive golf when he was released. Peake’s comeback story was complete on Sunday, March 2, when he won the New Zealand Open by one shot –– his first professional win.  

“Along with my family and my team, everybody believed. I believed as well, though, so, yeah, I changed my life,” Peake said in a post-tournament interview.  “You know, this is what I do. I just play golf. The story is what it is. I’m just out here playing golf.”

With the win in New Zealand, the now 31-year-old Peake qualified for the 2025 British Open at Royal Portrush in Northern Ireland.  

Peake’s criminal record still follows him to this day. He had visa issues entering New Zealand this week and didn’t even get into the country until Tuesday evening, Feb. 25. He will also have to get special clearance to travel to Northern Ireland this July.