Jordan Spieth and Scottie Scheffler agree on one thing when it comes to the Masters dinner (Image: Kevin C. Cox, Getty Images)
Scottie Scheffler and Jordan Spieth have agreed that they will not sit alongside golfing legends Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus at the annual Masters dinner. This year, Rory McIlroy will host fellow winners of the Green Jacket during the exclusive gathering held two days before the major at Augusta National Golf Club. Scheffler’s first experience of the event was in 2023, following his maiden triumph 12 months earlier. The American then prevailed again at Augusta National in 2024.
Scheffler recently explained during a press conference at the Arnold Palmer Invitational: “Zach [Woods] and Jordan [Spieth] always sat next to each other, and I definitely didn’t ask Jordan to sit by him, because he would have done something to make sure that I didn’t have a place to sit.
“So I kind of looked at Zach, I was like, ‘Hey, where are you sitting this year?’ And he told me, and he was nice and let me join him. But I definitely wasn’t going to ask Jordan for that because he would have messed with me.”
Asked about there being any unwritten rules, Scheffler said: “There’s a little protocol. Guys have, like, I would say, sections where they sit. But you move around a little bit.
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“There are no necessarily assigned seats, but I’m definitely not going to sit in the area where Tiger and Jack sit. Like, there are kinds of spots where you feel you’ll naturally flow into.
“It’s always fun for me to get to see some of the champions that I don’t get to see regularly, so it’s always really fun just catching up with those guys, seeing what they’re like, kind of seeing what makes them tick, little stuff like that is always really fun.”
33 previous Masters winners had dinner when the event was hosted by Scottie Scheffler (Image: @TheMasters/Twitter)
Spieth also pulled back the curtain on the unwritten rule that golf’s biggest stars must follow during the annual dinner. The American star has an invitation to the event thanks to his 2015 Masters win.
Over a decade later, he acknowledged he’s completely settled in at the Champions Dinner now that he understands how the seating arrangement works.
“It’s kind of like 6th, 7th grade,” he said. “If the teacher they have assigned seats you get all bummed, and if they let you sit wherever you want you end up sitting in the same spot anyways.”
“It’s kind of the same deal. Sit with Scottie, but then when Scottie wins, you know, he’s done that twice in the last three or four or so. There’s a certain section on the far side from where we sit where you don’t sit, because it’s Jack and Tiger. And that’s where Arnie [Palmer] was.”
Rory McIlroy has interesting plans for his Masters Champions Dinner (Image: Richard Heathcote/Getty Images)
Reflecting on his first time hosting in 2023, Scheffler said: “Yeah, I think definitely the first time around when you’re hosting the dinner, it’s your first time in that room, you don’t really know what to expect.
“I had no idea what it was going to be like. The only thing I really knew was where I was going to sit. That was basically the only thing I knew, sitting next to Mr Crenshaw and the chairman. So, yeah, I was definitely nervous. I’m not really a super social guy to begin with.”
Spieth echoed this sentiment, adding: “You speak in that room. It’s like, what am I going to say to these guys? And I was 22. I don’t even remember what I said. But, yeah, I was [nervous]. Not anymore.”
Both Scheffler and Spieth will have the opportunity to savour McIlroy’s menu this year, which includes wagyu filet mignon and seared salmon. The starters feature bacon-wrapped dates filled with goat’s cheese, yellowfin tuna carpaccio, foie gras, a toasted baguette with chives and elk sliders. Sticky toffee pudding will be on offer for dessert.