AUGUSTA, Ga. – Two years after his tortilla soup left many of the past Masters champions holding their throats and scrambling for glasses of ice water, Scottie Scheffler kept things spicy on Tuesday night at the Masters Champions Dinner.
Scheffler’s second champion’s menu included Texas-style chili, which wasn’t as hot as the soup but still had ample kick.
Several of the 32 past champions in attendance, including Bubba Watson, Bernhard Langer and Jose Maria Olazabal, corroborated Golfweek’s report from Fuzzy Zoeller that the chili was a “five-alarm fire.” Watson added that the running joke of the night was that the chili was the salad, since Scheffler apparently doesn’t eat salad.
Ian Woosnam, who flew in from Barbados, scoffed at the idea of it being too spicy for him: “That’s how I like it!”
Tom Watson enjoyed it, but added with a smile, “I make better chili.”
One of the main-course options was a ribeye steak, which Nick Faldo estimated to have weighed about two pounds.
“Massive,” Olazabal said. “It was a huge chunk of meat.”
No one could recall any player finishing his steak. Woosnam didn’t come close, though he did say he helped himself to a good amount of firecracker prawns. Langer took one look at the steak and ordered the fish.
“Back in the old days, I could’ve finished it,” Watson said.
Aside from the food, the consensus was that it was an enjoyable evening, even without three champions – Tiger Woods, Sandy Lyle and Vijay Singh, who withdrew a few days ago. It was just quieter than normal, Faldo says.
“Very tame,” Faldo added. “Nice, but very tame.”
Scheffler’s speech included the two-time winner thanking the past champions who no longer tee it up in the tournament, guys such as Tommy Aaron, Charles Coody and soon-to-be “retiree,” as Watson said Scheffler quipped, Langer, whose 41st and final Masters start was acknowledged by emcee Ben Crenshaw.
“Scottie talked about how those guys showed us the way and opened doors, and how we wouldn’t be here without them,” Olazabal said.
Added Woosnam of Scheffler: “Even though it was his second time, you could still feel the emotion in his voice.”
Perfect preparation and nothing less for the Champions Dinner. #themasterspic.twitter.com/7dFjVcEY7F
— The Masters (@TheMasters) April 9, 2025
Crenshaw told a story about when Bobby Jones lost in the first round of the 1929 U.S. Amateur at Pebble Beach. The next day he visited a new course in the area called Cypress Point, where he spoke with the course architect, Alistair Mackenzie, who would later team with Jones to design Augusta National.
Gary Player sat next to Angel Cabrera, who was welcomed back this year after serving a two-year prison sentence for gender violence. Player called it “100% the right decision” to have Cabrera back in the field and at the dinner.
“This is the problem with the world; who are we to be judgmental?” Player said. “We all make mistakes. It says in your prayers, forgive us of our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. They did 100% the right thing. It would’ve been cruel not to let him come here. He’s one of the most talented golfers I ever saw. If he had the dedication of a Nicklaus or Trevino or myself – I sat next to him last night. Lovely man.”
Player agreed with Faldo that it was among the quieter dinners.
“It’s a great evening, and I have nothing but praise for it,” Player said, “but it’s not as vibrant as it was when we had Hogan and Snead and Nelson and Palmer; there was more said in those days.”
Perhaps it was because many were still eating their steaks.
AUGUSTA, Ga. – Two years after his tortilla soup left many of the past Masters champions holding their throats and scrambling for glasses of ice water, Scottie Scheffler kept things spicy on Tuesday night at the Masters Champions Dinner.
Scheffler’s second champion’s menu included Texas-style chili, which wasn’t as hot as the soup but still had ample kick.
Several of the 32 past champions in attendance, including Bubba Watson, Bernhard Langer and Jose Maria Olazabal, corroborated Golfweek’s report from Fuzzy Zoeller that the chili was a “five-alarm fire.” Watson added that the running joke of the night was that the chili was the salad, since Scheffler apparently doesn’t eat salad.
Ian Woosnam, who flew in from Barbados, scoffed at the idea of it being too spicy for him: “That’s how I like it!”
Tom Watson enjoyed it, but added with a smile, “I make better chili.”
One of the main-course options was a ribeye steak, which Nick Faldo estimated to have weighed about two pounds.
“Massive,” Olazabal said. “It was a huge chunk of meat.”
No one could recall any player finishing his steak. Woosnam didn’t come close, though he did say he helped himself to a good amount of firecracker prawns. Langer took one look at the steak and ordered the fish.
“Back in the old days, I could’ve finished it,” Watson said.
Aside from the food, the consensus was that it was an enjoyable evening, even without three champions – Tiger Woods, Sandy Lyle and Vijay Singh, who withdrew a few days ago. It was just quieter than normal, Faldo says.
“Very tame,” Faldo added. “Nice, but very tame.”
Scheffler’s speech included the two-time winner thanking the past champions who no longer tee it up in the tournament, guys such as Tommy Aaron, Charles Coody and soon-to-be “retiree,” as Watson said Scheffler quipped, Langer, whose 41st and final Masters start was acknowledged by emcee Ben Crenshaw.
“Scottie talked about how those guys showed us the way and opened doors, and how we wouldn’t be here without them,” Olazabal said.
Added Woosnam of Scheffler: “Even though it was his second time, you could still feel the emotion in his voice.”
Crenshaw told a story about when Bobby Jones lost in the first round of the 1929 U.S. Amateur at Pebble Beach. The next day he visited a new course in the area called Cypress Point, where he spoke with the course architect, Alistair Mackenzie, who would later team with Jones to design Augusta National.
Gary Player sat next to Angel Cabrera, who was welcomed back this year after serving a two-year prison sentence for gender violence. Player called it “100% the right decision” to have Cabrera back in the field and at the dinner.
“This is the problem with the world; who are we to be judgmental?” Player said. “We all make mistakes. It says in your prayers, forgive us of our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. They did 100% the right thing. It would’ve been cruel not to let him come here. He’s one of the most talented golfers I ever saw. If he had the dedication of a Nicklaus or Trevino or myself – I sat next to him last night. Lovely man.”
Player agreed with Faldo that it was among the quieter dinners.
“It’s a great evening, and I have nothing but praise for it,” Player said, “but it’s not as vibrant as it was when we had Hogan and Snead and Nelson and Palmer; there was more said in those days.”
Perhaps it was because many were still eating their steaks.
