Best player on the course last weekend in Orlando was Angel Cabrera.
Throw in Angel Jr., a fledgling pro and you had a team no one could beat at the 2017 version of the Father-Son Challenge.
It was pretty evident from the first day when they equaled the low round ever shot in this event — 59. That was a shot better than Mark and full-breaded son Shaun O’Meara and two shots better than defending champs David Duval and Nick Karavites.
On Sunday the Cabreras found themselves locked in a back-nine dual with Duval and his stepson but over the final four holes, it was Cabrera, the 2007 U.S. Open champ and 2009 Masters winner, who showed that he could be a force to contend with when he steps onto the Champions Tour in 21 months.
The Cabreras took the lead with birdies at 10 and 11 then they made their stretch run with birdies at 13, 14, 16, 17 and 18 to tie the tournament record at 25-under, three better than Duval and Karavites, who tied for second with Bernhard and Jason Langer at 22-under par. The Pates, Jerry and son Wesley finished at 21-under with the O’Mearas.
It was a fun event, Lee Trevino thanked the sponsors for setting up shorter tee for him and Jack Nicklaus so they could compete. Trevino is 78, Nicklaus will turn 78 next month. Still, both showed a lot of shot-making ability.
John Daly and son finished at 18-under par and David Feherty threw some pressure out for Daly Jr., dubbing him, “The kid most likely to show up on the PGA Tour.”
Players whose sons are trying to follow in their fathers’ footsteps include Cabrera Jr., who has played on the Latinoamerica and McKenzie Tours and Taylor Funk who missed getting his card at the Web.com Tour school recently. As for “Little John” Daly, he’s only 14 and has a way to go but dad has declared that the kid is totally immersed in the game.
