Despite the presence of five LIV stars, three-time Masters winner Nick Faldo insists “it was all calm and cool” at the much-loved tradition of the Champions Dinner.
A tradition born in 1952 by Ben Hogan, former winners of the famous tournament convene for a dinner before play commences, with all instructed to wear their green jacket they acquired when winning the Masters.
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There was plenty of intrigue for this year’s dinner given it was the first featuring previous Masters champions who defected to LIV Golf, the Saudi-backed rival of the PGA Tour.
There are six former Masters winners who jumped to LIV: Phil Mickelson, Charl Schwartzel, Bubba Watson, Sergio Garcia, Patrick Reed and Dustin Johnson.
Fans were keen to see how the six would be received at the dinner, with Barstool Sports’ Dan ‘Big Cat’ Katz poking fun at the picture of the former champions on social media.
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However, Faldo, who last won the Masters in 1996, maintained there was no such tension.
“I’m sure you’re all wondering about the temperature in the room, it was all calm and cool,” Faldo wrote on Twitter.
“Only the tortilla soup was spicy hot!”
The winner of the prior year gets to decide the menu for the attendees, with 2022 champion Scottie Scheffler settling on a reasonably simple menu.
Scheffler decided to start with cheeseburger sliders served “Scottie-style” alongside firecracker shrimp.
A tortilla soup was up next, with the main course a choice of Texas ribeye steak or blackened redfish, topped off a warm chocolate chip skillet cookie with milk and cookies ice cream for dessert.