While Angel Cabrera basked in the applause and adulation of being a past Masters champion this week at Augusta National, three years in prison had built up too much rust for him to contend for a Green Jacket.

Mr. Cabrera, 55, ended his controversial participation in the Masters on Friday, missing the cut by a wide margin after posting a two-day score of 11-over par. It didn’t matter much to Mr. Cabrera: It was certainly better than spending nearly three years in an Argentine prison related to domestic abuse charges. 

While some columnists and women’s groups protested Mr. Cabrera’s appearance, all seemed forgotten at the year’s first major championship. He attended the Champions Dinner on Tuesday and smiled proudly for the group photo.

Winning a three-man playoff in 2009 earned the native of Argentina a lifetime invitation to the Masters. Yet this wasn’t an ordinary appearance: Released from prison in 2023, he came to Augusta National seeking a second chance in life and a game he once ruled before his incarceration.

His career was put on pause in July 2021, when he was sentenced to two years for threats and harassment against his former partner, Cecilia Torres Mana.  The following year, he faced similar charges involving another ex-girlfriend, Micaela Escudero. Both cases were combined into a single sentence of three years and 10 months. After serving time in three different prisons, he was granted parole in August and became eligible to return to PGA Tour-sanctioned events.

Last Sunday, he won for the first time in 11 years when he captured the PGA Tour Champions’ James Hardie Pro Football Hall of Fame Invitational, giving him a boost of confidence heading to the Masters. “I’m very grateful,” he said, standing before reporters upon his arrival at Augusta National. “Obviously, the people of the golf world are very great with me. I just appreciate the way they treated me.”

Not everyone was happy about Mr. Cabrera being on the property and competing in his 21st Masters. Some columnists called his presence “a dark cloud” over the tournament.

Another pre-tournament column ran under the headline, “Why this man shouldn’t be playing in the Masters.”  

The Masters has never acquiesced to public opinion, controversy, or outside noise in governing its tournament. Not when Martha Burke launched a campaign nearly two decades ago to protest the absence of female members at Augusta National, to which the chairman at the time, Hootie Johnson, said he wasn’t about to be pressured “at the point of a bayonet.”  Now there are at least seven female members of Augusta National.

The current chairman, Fred Ridley, welcomed Mr. Cabrera back. “We certainly abhor domestic violence of any type,” Mr. Ridley said this week. “As it relates to Angel, Angel has served the sentence that was prescribed by the Argentine courts, and he is a past champion, and so he was invited.”

Mr. Cabrera, who did not touch a club during his three years in prison, had a simple response to those who question why he competed in the Masters: “I won the Masters. Why not?”

He did express remorse over the crimes that put him in prison. “Obviously, I regret things that happened and you learn from them,” he said. “Those are in the past. We have to look forward to what’s coming.”

Mr. Cabrera was sentenced for assaulting, stalking, and attempting to run over Ms. Mana, and assaulting and intimidating Ms. Escudero. His ex-wife, Silvia Rivadero, also added claims of abuse.

“There was a stage in my life of five years … that they weren’t the right thing I should have done,” Mr. Cabrera said. “Before that, I was okay, so I just have to keep doing what I know I can do right.”

Mr. Cabrera said he harbors no ill will against those who think he didn’t belong in the tournament. “I respect their opinion,” he said. “Everybody has their own opinion and I respect that.”

It might have been awkward if Mr. Cabrera were on the leaderboard for the weekend. But he had no shot. After a 3-over par 75 in the opening round, he followed with an 8-over par 80 on Friday, leaving him 11-over for the tournament and tied for 93rd in the 95-man field.

The Argentinian, once a hero in his country, was happy to have played and was ready to focus on the future. “Life has given me another opportunity,” he said. “I’ve got to take advantage of that and I want to do the right things in this second opportunity.”