A year ago very few had heard of the man known affectionately as "El Pato" (The Duck), and away from the golf course that's still how Angel Cabrera prefers it.

The problem is it's probably quite hard to remain anonymous in the contemporary sports world of isotonic drinks and six-packs when you look like Cabrera.

For the 210-pound, chain-smoking former caddy doesn't strike you as the international athlete. And for that reason he's developed quite a cult following since ousting Tiger Woods and Jim Furyk by one stroke to win the US Open at Oakmont last summer.

Cabrera, a European Tour veteran, became the first player from Argentina to claim a major championship since Roberto de Vicenzo in 1967, at Hoylake.

But has it changed the larger than life character? Not likely.

"I'm the same person living in the same house," he told The Royal Gazette. "I'm a family man and like hanging out with my friends. But as a golfer I'm different and winning a major has given me more confidence to go forward.

"And yes, I do like my nickname 'El Pato' and I've always been called it. Everyone in Argentina knows me by that name."

Cabrera's seemingly overnight rise to golf's upper echelons was a struggle. Born in Villa Allende, Córdoba, without a silver spoon in his mouth, he didn't finish elementary school, and began golfing only because his job as a caddy at the Córdoba club allowed him to play. The little money he did earn went to putting food on the table for his family. Next week the 38-year-old joins fellow first time major winners Zach Johnson and Padraig Harrington as well as Woods' replacement Furyk as this year's elite foursome.

Household names they are not, especially in comparison to the world number one, but Cabrera insists the Grand Slam quartet deserve respect and recognition for their achievements this season.

"It's unfortunate a player like Tiger is not part of the field," says Cabrera. "But the players participating have earned the right to be in the field and will make the tournament very interesting. All of them are world-class golfers."

While he concedes the golfing fraternity view the Grand Slam of Golf as an exhibition event he makes no attempt to hide his desire to win golf's most exclusive tournament, which possesses a $1.35 million prize purse.

"It's a great honour to be able to be part of the tournament of the major champions," adds Cabrera. "It's difficult to say how other golfers view it.

"It's probably viewed as an exhibition match more than a tournament. But to be part of it you have to be a major winner.

"We all want to win all the time. We're all major winners; it's in our very nature to want to win."

Cabrera will fly to Bermuda after competing in the World Match Play Championship in Surrey, England this week.

Johnson's caddy to play in Bermuda Open ¿ page 28