‘I can’t eat that’: This Masters Champions Dinner dish dropped jaws

AUGUSTA, Ga. — When Scottie Scheffler hosted the Champions Dinner at Augusta National two years ago, one of his menu items — tortilla soup — became an early-week storyline for its gut-rattling, sweat-inducing spiciness.

Of the dish, a chicken-based broth blended with onions, garlic and cayenne pepper, 2016 champion Danny Willett said, “I ate it, but I did look over at Scottie and ask if he was trying to kill us.”

Scheffler handled hosting duties again this week and though his five-alarm soup wasn’t on the menu Tuesday evening in the Augusta National clubhouse, another of his selections again made waves: wood-fired cowboy ribeyes. The steaks were notable not for their heat but for their girth.

“It was all about the size of the steaks,” Nick Faldo, a three-time green-jacket winner, told GOLF.com Wednesday morning as he strolled down to Amen Corner. “Seriously, they were closer to two pounds than a pound. The steak was that big.”

He extended his hands to the width of a football.

“Everyone was like, whhhat, I can’t eat that,” he said.

Faldo added that though he’s seen such steaks of such beefiness before, he’s never ordered one. “That’s the one that costs a lot — 150 bucks,” he said.

Scheffler rounded out his menu with cheeseburger sliders, firecracker shrimp, Papa Scheff’s meatball and ravioli bites, Texas-style chili and blackened redfish.

And for dessert: a warm chocolate chip skillet cookie with vanilla bean ice cream, which also did not lack for volume.

“Probably half a pound of sugar,” Faldo said. When he asked Scheffler about the generous servings, the defending champion joked, “The plan is everybody will be sleeping today. They won’t be practicing.”

Relative to years past, Faldo described the ambiance in the room as “very quiet” and said that none of the champions shared after-dinner stories. Faldo didn’t have a theory as to why. “Don’t know,” he said. “Full bellies.”

Of the 35 living Masters winners, only three were absent: Tiger Woods, Vijay Singh and Sandy Lyle.

According to a Golfweek report, Augusta National chairman Fred Ridley opened the dinner by praising the club staff who helped clean up and rebuild the course after Hurricane Helene.

Ben Crenshaw, who has emceed the dinner since 2005, also spoke. He drew on an excerpt from Charles Price’s 1986 book, “A Golf Story,” and also welcomed Angel Cabrera back to Augusta National, Golfweek reported; Cabrera, the 2009 champion, is back in the Masters field for the first time since he served a 30-month prison sentence for domestic violence. Faldo said he and Hideki Matsuyama flanked Cabrera in corner seats on the far end of the table.  

Scheffler, as is customary for the reigning champion, also addressed the room. Faldo said Scheffler paid homage to the rich history of the tournament and was “very appreciative of what everyone has done to make the Masters what it is today.”