It can be challenging to be a golf fan. Your favorite player might get a DUI or appear on the back page of the New York Post in a tawdry sex scandal or become mixed up in an insider trading case or do time for tax evasion. How do we separate the flaws of the person from their mastery as golfers? Maybe we’re not supposed to. Or maybe it’s okay to recognize that imperfect people can still thrill us as golf fans, however uncomfortable that may be. Angel Cabrera is a particularly vexing case.

He does not have the starpower of Tiger Woods or the charisma of Phil Mickelson or Jim Thorpe. Brooding and mysterious, Cabrera has always seemed like the living embodiment of the gauchos who populate the folklore of his native Argentina. His golfing genius is undeniable, as only four Hall of Fame talents have similarly conquered both Oakmont and Augusta National: Jack Nicklaus, Ben Hogan, Sam Snead (the ‘51 PGA Championship!) and Dustin Johnson. But while golf’s fallen heroes have tended to harm only themselves, Cabrera’s trespasses were more heinous.