Cabrera's Power Move
Copy Angel Cabrera's full release to pound drives and split fairways
By Top 100 Teacher Brady Riggs with David DeNunzio

The old saying "you don't win the Open, it wins you" didn't hold true for Angel Cabrera. The burly Argentine was the aggressor in this battle, pounding huge drives under extreme pressure. His 311-yard average off the tee at Oakmont is the kind of stat you can't fully get your head around, like Bill Gate's net worth or the population of China. His tee shot on No. 9 (his 18th) in the second round set up a birdie and ended Phil Mickelson's made-cut streak in majors at 30, and his bomb on the 72nd hole led to a tap-in par and meant Tiger Woods would have to birdie one of the toughest holes in U.S. Open history just to force a playoff. Two swings that KO'd the two best players in the world.

Like former Open winners at Oakmont—including Ben Hogan in 1953, Jack Nicklaus in 1962 and Larry Nelson in 1983—Cabrera plays a fully released, left-to-right power fade. This high, softer-landing shot was Cabrera's key to mastering the undulating fairways and rock-hard greens of Oakmont. Here's how you can do it wherever you play.

Credit: Harry How/Getty Images