<a href="http://ad1.emediate.dk/eas?cu=10878;ty=ct;cat1=ARTICLES;cat2=EQUIPMENTNEWS;cat3=NEWS;kw1="><img src="http://ad1.emediate.dk/eas?cu=10878;cre=img;cat1=ARTICLES>;cat2=EQUIPMENTNEWS;cat3=NEWS;kw1=" border="0" alt="EmediateAd" width="728" height="90"></a>

Equipment news

You are looking at: Home : Equipment news

Cabrera loyalty pays off at Augusta

First Masters title for Ping

Posted: 13 April 2009
by Golfmagic correspondent

Cabrera receives his US Masters jacket from Trevor Immelman

How appropriate that in its 50th anniversary year, Ping should claim its first US Masters title - thanks to its loyal staff player Angel Cabrera. The Argentine chipped and putted sublimely to catch 48-year-old Kenny Perry at the 72nd hole and forced a three-way play-off with Chad Campbell.

Then he holed from eight feet to force a second extra hole shoot out with Perry as Campbell bogeyed the re-played 18th and finally wore down his American opponent to clinch a two-putt winning par when they played the 10th hole for the fifth time that week.

Cabrera punches the air in triumph

Ping traditionally make a solid gold replica of any major-winning putter and in Cabrera's case it will be the mid-length Ping i-Series (Half) Craz-E B with the extra-long grip that Cabrera prefers.

Ping revealed that Cabrera, a former caddie and protege of Eduardo Romero, who paid his expenses to join the European Tour, has been a loyal Ping player ever since and has already rewarded their own investment in him by winning the US Open, in 2007.

He also used a set of Ping S57 irons and a thin-soled Ping Tour W TS lob wedge - due to be released to the market soon - ideally set up to cope with Augusta National's pristine fairways and fringes and a Ping Tour-W 54-degree sand-iron.

His driver was a 2007-model Rapture with 7.5 degree of loft and and 15.5-degree Rapture V2 fairway metal.

Cabrera reaches for his Rapture driver during Saturday's play at Augusta

Perry looked to have clinched his first major when he hit 8-iron to within inches of the 16th hole and tapped in to take a two-stroke lead on 14-under par but Cabrera ripped a huge drive up 17 to keep the pressure on. After over-shooting the green, he chipped close to save par but Perry thinned his own pitch and dropped a shot.

Ahead, after a monumental battle between Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods finally ran out of steam, Campbell set a clubhouse target of 12 under par. Again Cabrera pitched close enough to match him but Perry found sand off his tee shot, missed the green and had to settle for the play-off.

To lose out were severe blows to Campbell and Perry but they took it with good grace as Cabrera punched the air in triumph and had the green jacket proudly slipped over his massive shoulders by defending champion Trevor Immelman.

FOOT NOTE: More than half the players at Augusta chose to wear FootJoy with both Cabrera and Campbell wearing FootJoy Classics. Perry, also wore a SciFlex glove, while Campbell tested a new prototype FootJoy glove. All three players used the New 2009 Titleist Pro V1x golf ball.

Previous article:
Review: Ping S57 irons

Review: Ping Tour W wedge

Discuss this story

GVI Gary

When I was buying my last-but-one set of irons a decade or so ago, I remember the shop assistant telling me that "no-one ever won a major using irons with cast heads".

Cabrera has clearly now won two - but have there been many others? Was the shop assistant talking tosh? Or have more of the top players moved to them recently with the increased acceptability of cavities, inserts and so on?

Posted: 14/04/2009 17:06

GavinD

Did Lawrie not win the Open with a form of Wilson Fat shaft irons, not sure if the heads were forged or cast? Am sure someone on here would correct me if I am wrong.

Posted: 14/04/2009 17:57

rgjusa

From memory Corey Pavin won the US Open with Cleveland VAS, Calcavecchia won the Open in 89 with Ping, John Daly played Wilson Ultras when he won one of his Opens, and Lawrie did win using the Fat Shaft shafts for sure. But there aren't that many I am fairly sure of that.
Posted: 14/04/2009 20:17

fengibbon

one of the unsubtantiated rumours i have heard on more than one occasion is that your average tour player irons are not really the same as you'd pick up from the local pro shop / american golf rip-off.

I.e. they look like a Cally Tour X20 / Ping G10 / TM R????? etc but are hand forged Japenese stuff with Cally/Ping/TM markings and labelling.

Any truth in that or not, I cannot possibly comment

Any club makers / ex tour caddies etc care to confirm / refute that rumoutr - please speak up..

Posted: 14/04/2009 20:31

rgjusa

Fengibbon - there is some truth in it. A first hand example is that Seve used to be sponsored by Slazenger but had Mizuno TP11 " blanks" in his bag with "Slazenger" stamped on them. There are other examples of special forged models by Miura for TM, Nike, and Titleist. But - there is a lot of unsubstantiated bull out there as I am sure you are aware.
Posted: 14/04/2009 21:04

Reckless

Padraig Harrington uses Wilson Staff CI7 which are cast.
Posted: 14/04/2009 22:03

Chris Curry

Not so sure about the irons any more. They may have lofts tweaked to suit individual preferences but I can't see Ping creating a forged version of their XYZ irons just for the pros. I could be wrong of course but wouldn't that be a missed marketing opportunity? I mean why sell cast versions of 'X' when you can forge the same head of 'X' and stamp it with 'Pro' thus allowing you to charge double/triple for the privilege. Everyone knows that sticking the word 'Pro' after a product attracts more attention of the discerning 28 handicapper than a flame does to a moth. Especially when they're still in the delusional phase of "buying a game". For me, the most insidious dodge is when a tour pro has a headcover stating 'X' on his driver and when the headcover is removed said driver is nothing of the sort! 2-3 years ago a certain Cleveland pro (not naming names but he's currently got a face like thunder on the Srixon ball ad) had a Cleveland Launcher (or Hi-Bore - can't remember exactly) but the driver itself definitely had 4 adjustable weight ports and very little in the way of company markings or decals. I can't remember Cleveland making such a driver but it certainly looked as if it had been tailor made for him (if.......you catch my drift).

Posted: 15/04/2009 06:57

rgjusa

...you remind me, I think it is TM that let their tour players play any shaft they want so long as they have the TM colours screen printed on them.

Straying off topic a little, it does make me chuckle that the blacked out Ping man grip favoured by you-know-who is also now being manufactured.

Posted: 15/04/2009 09:27

fengibbon

rgj - so you can now buy a blacked out ping grip in the style of a certain "you know who"....

Posted: 15/04/2009 09:48

rgjusa

Yup - take a peek
Posted: 15/04/2009 13:45

Robster

Chris Curry wrote (see)

I mean why sell cast versions of 'X' when you can forge the same head of 'X' and stamp it with 'Pro' thus allowing you to charge double/triple for the privilege. Everyone knows that sticking the word 'Pro' after a product attracts more attention of the discerning 28 handicapper than a flame does to a moth. Especially when they're still in the delusional phase of "buying a game".

You forgot to add the word 'Tour' to that as well
Posted: 15/04/2009 19:53

Chris Curry

...and lets not forget the accompanying "Preferred"!

Posted: 15/04/2009 23:21

We'd love you to add a comment! Please take half a minute to register as a free member