Scottie Scheffler’s Masters Champions Dinner Had Past Winner ‘Call Fire Department’

Tiger Woods didn’t attend Scheffler's spicy Masters Champions Dinner—and a past champion revealed why.
Scottie Scheffler hosted the Masters Champions Dinner for the second time in three years after winning the tournament last year.
Scottie Scheffler hosted the Masters Champions Dinner for the second time in three years after winning the tournament last year. / Rob Schumacher-USA TODAY Network

It was a spicy Masters Champions Dinner. 

No, not because of the PGA Tour-LIV Golf rift. And no, Phil Mickelson and Fred Couples didn’t get into it despite a recent back-and-forth on social media. 

Instead, it was host Scottie Scheffler’s tortilla soup and Texas-style chili. 

“It was a five-alarm fire,” 1979 champion Fuzzy Zoeller told Golfweek. “I had to call the fire department to blow it out.”

Yes, that was hyperbole. 

Thirty-two of the 35 seats were occupied Tuesday night at Augusta National, with Tiger Woods, Vijay Singh and Sandy Lyle not attending the annual festivity. 

Why wasn’t Woods there?

“We were putting our jackets away and the guys said that Tiger still can’t put weight on his foot,” 1971 winner Charles Coody said of Woods’s achilles injury. “They said his weight tolerance just isn’t there to climb up those stairs.” 

As many of the participants ordered the ribeye steak over the blackened redfish, there apparently wasn’t a lot of hoopla during the meal. 

“It was a quiet dinner—quieter than normal,” said 1973 winner Tommy Aaron. “Crenshaw welcomed Angel Cabrera back to the table, and also paid tribute to Bernhard (Langer) for his last Masters. But neither Angel or Bernhard spoke.”

Meanwhile, Scheffler’s menu was similar to his first time hosting the dinner in 2023. So if he wins his third Masters in four years, Zoeller might want to bring something to reduce the spice.


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Max Schreiber
MAX SCHREIBER

Max Schreiber is a contributor to the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated, covering golf. Before joining SI in October 2024, the Mahwah, N.J., native, worked as an associate editor for the Golf Channel and wrote for RyderCup.com and FanSided. He is a multiplatform producer for Newsday and has a bachelor's in communications and journalism from Quinnipiac University. In his free time, you can find him doing anything regarding the Yankees, Giants, Knicks and Islanders.