Scottie Scheffler welcomes six LIV rebels to his Texas-themed Masters dinner at Augusta
A Masters dinner like no other was held on Tuesday night by Scottie Scheffler, as the great, the good and the unpopular gathered ahead of the first Major of the golfing calendar.
Dustin Johnson, Patrick Reed, Phil Mickelson, Charl Schwartzel, Bubba Watson and Sergio Garcia were the LIV rebels in the room with for World No 1 Scheffler’s Texas-themed Champions Dinner.
The Saudi-backed LIV tour is deeply unpopular with those on the PGA but stars from both circuits are mixing for the Majors – but none sees the rivals rub shoulders in close quarters quite like at Augusta.
Scheffler started the dinner by offering up appetizers of cheeseburger sliders, served ‘Scottie-style’, plus firecracker shrimp with sweet Thai chilli and sriracha mayo.
He followed that up with Tortilla Soup served with avocado, crispy blue tortilla strips, sour cream, coriander and lime.
Scottie Scheffler (center, first row) hosted a Texas-themed Masters dinner on Tuesday night
Scheffler pictured with Tiger Woods – a five-time winner himself – at his Augusta dinner
Scheffler’s menu was revealed in March – a Southern-style feast harking back to Texan roots
For the main meal, guests could choose between a Texas Ribeye Steak or Blackened Redfish, with sides of ‘family-style’ mac and cheese, jalapeno creamed corn, fried brussels sprouts and seasoned fries.
Then for dessert, it’s a classic all-American choice of a warm chocolate chip skillet cookie, served with milk and cookies-flavored ice cream.
A speech to all the guests is then a famous tradition for the dinner host and Scheffler admitted he expected to feel the weight of the occasion when addressing his colleagues and guests.
‘I’ll definitely get emotional. I wish I didn’t but I always do,’ said Scheffler after Tuesday’s practice round. ‘I don’t know what it is.
‘The weight of everything hit me as I was leaving the locker room and they were setting up for the dinner. I was like, oh, boy, here it comes.’
Scheffler has previously spoken of his wife Meredith helping him design the menu for his big night.
He said last month: ”My wife, Meredith, she’s very creative. She’s been helping me kind of think my way through it because I’m not really good at that, so she’s been helping me out.
‘I don’t know exactly what you’re supposed to say that night. I haven’t really gotten too much info.
Speaking Tuesday, Scheffler (center) admitted he would feel emotional hosing the dinner
Scheffler’s guests were welcomed with cheeseburger sliders as an appetizer at Augusta
Scheffler revealed his ‘very creative’ wife Meredith (right) helped him with the menu choices
‘I’ve got to talk to a few of the guys and figure out what actually goes on that night because I’m still kind of clueless. I’m hoping that it will be a fun night.’
The added layer of complexity for Scheffler is the LIV factor but if anything, there has seemingly been an effort to try and cool tensions between the two groups of players in the buildup to the tournament.
Rory McIlroy, who in times gone by has spoken of his ‘hate’ at seeing LIV players turning up at DP World Tour events and had a public fallout with Patrick Reed earlier this year, cooled his rhetoric in his Tuesday press conference.
‘This tournament is way bigger than any of that,’ McIlroy said. ‘It’s a very nuanced situation and there’s different dynamics.
‘It’s OK to get on with Brooks (Kopeka) and D.J. (Dustin Johnson) and maybe not get on with some other guys that went to it.
‘Look, it’s a narrative and it’s a storyline, but the Masters and the four major championships sit above all that noise, and that’s the way it should be this week.’
Aussie Cameron Smith, a defector to LIV last year, said he enjoyed seeing familiar faces from the PGA Tour on the driving range.
Scheffler won the Masters last year by three shots ahead of rival Rory McIlroy at Augusta
World No 1 Scheffler is a favorite to win again this week – and so too is rival McIlroy
Speaking Monday, he said: ‘I spent some time out on the range today. It was good to see some familiar faces, lots of laughs, lots of handshakes. It was really nice.
‘I really wasn’t sure what to expect walking on to the range but it was good to see some familiar faces.’
Both McIlroy and Smith are winless and Augusta and therefore not at the Tuesday dinner.
McIlroy and Scheffler are the favorites for the tournament this week, which could be hampered by thunderstorms in an unappealing weather forecast in Georgia for one of the finest weeks in the sporting calendar.
Scheffler beat McIlroy by three shots for victory last year. If McIlroy emerges victorious at Augusta this week, he’ll win his fifth Major and complete the grand slam.
The first Masters dinner was arranged by Ben Hogan in 1952 following his win the previous year and it has become a chance to ‘reminisce, swap banter and relax’.
The stipulations were that you had to be a past champion, you wore your ‘green coat’ and that you arrived, promptly, at 7.15pm.
It has since become a rite of passage for the reigning champion to select and pay for the menu and previous winners have served up a range of dishes from the delicious, to the bland, to the bizarre.
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