"Just because I won the U.S. Open doesn't mean I'm going to change the way I live," Angel Cabrera told Sports Illustrated last August in his native Argentina, for a profile co-written by Luis Fernando Llosa. "I'm going to do what I've always done."
What the 38-year-old has always done — besides win (19 victories worldwide) — is to speak from the heart. Llosa reconnected with the man whose 1-under-par 69 bested Tiger Woods and Jim Furyk at Oakmont last year, making him the second Argentine (after Roberto De Vicenzo) to win a major. In a spirited exchange, the champion talks Torrey Pines, kicking cigarettes, and his lonely life on the PGA Tour.
You smoked a lot of cigarettes at
last year's U.S. Open. You've said,
Some players have psychologists.
I smoke. How has smoking helped?
I get that question over and over. Listen.
I quit smoking last summer, after the
British, on July 24th. I haven't smoked
since. There are a lot of players who
smoke and play well. There's nothing
wrong with that. Back then I was being
tortured with questions about smoking,
so I made a comment about smoking and
psychologists. But enough already.
Why'd you quit?
Because I didn't feel like smoking anymore.
Are you guys are going to torture
me for the next year with questions about
why I don't smoke? [laughs]
Just one more. Didn't smoking help
you cope with pressure? What do
you do now?
No. No. I smoked because I wanted to
and because I was addicted. It was a bad
habit, not an aid on the course. Quitting
has had no effect on my game.
What annoys you more — the oftrepeated
questions about your
smoking, or the oft-repeated
questions about how you got the
nickname El Pato?
Smoking questions. I have never been
annoyed by anyone's inquiries about
my nickname. Never.
So what do you think about sports
psychologists? Are they necessary?
Definitely. Just look at how many players
use them. But the player who starts
up with a psychologist ends up not being
able to play without the guy standing by
to hold his hand.
What about you?
I hope I never need one. I tried talking to
a psychologist once. Two minutes in, I
said, "Ciao!" Never again. There's no way,
no way, I'd continue! I couldn't buy into
a single thing the guy was saying.
Even though you're from Argentina,
at last year's Open you seemed to
connect with the U.S. fans, even as
you were beating their favorite player, Tiger. Why do American
fans like you?
I don't know, but I think the public in the
U.S. really enjoys watching us play, especially
when they see a less well-known
player, like me, do well.
What are your long-term goals?
First, to see my sons grow up healthy and
happy. In golf, I don't know. I've already
done many things I never imagined I'd
be able to do. I owe this sport so much
that everything that comes my way now
is a bonus. I want to win many more
tournaments, to win another major, but
I don't dream about it. I don't go crazy
thinking about it. Winning one is already
a dream come true.
Do you dream of winning another
U.S. Open?
I don't dream about winning another
major. I believe that I will.
Since winning at Oakmont, you've
won the Singapore Open and the
Grand Slam of Golf, and you
finished second in the HSBC
World Matchplay Championship.
It seems you've gotten even better
since your Open win.
After winning a major, things changed.
I knew I could win before, but sometimes
my head got in the way. Once I'd won,
I figured, "If I won this I can continue
winning." It gave me confidence.
Is there a specific part of your game
you're working on?
The only thing that has changed for me is
my mind-set — the part that doesn't know
whether you can win. Nothing else needs
change. For me the swing is always the
same. The movements are the same. What
matters is knowing you can do big things.
Once you know that, you can do them.
