Scheffler’s Champions Dinner Brings the Heat Again at Augusta
AUGUSTA, Ga. – Scottie Scheffler kept the spice flowing at Tuesday night’s Masters Champions Dinner, two years after his tortilla soup left past champions gasping for water.
This time, Scheffler’s Texas-style chili packed enough heat to earn the nickname “five-alarm fire” from Fuzzy Zoeller. The dish wasn’t quite as scorching as his infamous soup, but it still left an impression on the 32 past champions gathered in Augusta National’s clubhouse.
Bubba Watson revealed the running joke of the evening was that the chili served as the salad course, since Scheffler apparently doesn’t eat salad. Bernhard Langer and Jose Maria Olazabal both confirmed the dish’s significant kick.
Ian Woosnam, fresh from Barbados, dismissed concerns about the spice level: “That’s how I like it!”
Tom Watson enjoyed the chili but couldn’t resist adding with a smile, “I make better chili.”
The main course featured a ribeye steak that Nick Faldo estimated weighed about two pounds.
“Massive,” Olazabal said. “It was a huge chunk of meat.”
No champion reportedly finished their steak. Woosnam didn’t come close but helped himself to plenty of firecracker prawns. Langer took one look at the enormous cut and opted for fish instead.
“Back in the old days, I could’ve finished it,” Watson said.
The evening was notably quieter than previous years, with Tiger Woods, Sandy Lyle, and Vijay Singh absent. Faldo described it as “Very tame. Nice, but very tame.”
Scheffler’s speech included heartfelt thanks to champions who no longer compete in the tournament, such as Tommy Aaron, Charles Coody, and 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 shared.
Woosnam noted: “Even though it was his second time, you could still feel the emotion in his voice.”
Crenshaw entertained the group with a story about Bobby Jones visiting Cypress Point after losing in the 1929 U.S. Amateur at Pebble Beach, where Jones met Alistair Mackenzie, who would later help design Augusta National.
Gary Player sat beside Angel Cabrera, who returned this year after serving a two-year prison sentence for gender violence. Player strongly supported the decision to welcome Cabrera back.
“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.”
Player agreed with Faldo about the subdued atmosphere compared to dinners of the past.
“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 working on those massive steaks.
