Masters Champions Dinner: Most Memorable Dishes

Tiger Woods has chosen sushi, fajitas and milkshakes for the annual Masters Champions Dinner. How does his menu compare to the mouth-watering, and sometimes controversial, choices of other Masters champions?

Each year at Augusta National, past Masters winners gather for a meal on the Tuesday evening before the tournament starts, with the menu chosen by the reigning champion. This year it will take place on November 10, after the tournament was pushed back to November 12-15 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

For his menu, Tiger has chosen sushi and sashimi to start, then steak and chicken fajitas, followed by strawberry and vanilla milkshakes. Almost an exact replica of his old mentor Mark O’Meara’s menu in 1999.

Menu choices often reflect where the player was born or grew up, and while Tiger’s eclectic mix of Japanese and Mexican cuisine might sound odd, he had a simple explanation. “Being born and raised in Southern California, having fajitas and sushi was a part of my entire childhood,” he said.

As for milkshakes for dessert, he added: “That was one of the most great memories to see Gene Sarazen and Sam Snead having milkshakes that night in ’98.” Tiger served cheeseburgers, chicken sandwiches, french fries and milkshakes the first time he hosted the dinner after his 1997 victory.

He also served sushi and sashimi for his 2002 and 2003 starters, and both those meals included porterhouse steak and chocolate cake. In 2006, he went Tex-Mex with stuffed jalapenos and quesadillas to start, then those steak and chicken fajitas again, and apple pie.

With five green jackets to his name, you can’t blame him for repeating a few items. And he’s not alone in picking steak. In fact the most popular choices over the past 20 years have been a Caesar salad to start, beef of some description for the main course and vanilla ice cream for dessert.

Not a fan of salad you might think, but Patrick Reed did choose a Ceasar in 2019, followed by rib-eye steak and a choice of desserts including tiramisu and cheesecake.

In 2017, England’s Danny Willett chose the classic Great British Sunday Roast of prime rib beef, roasted potatoes and vegetables, with Yorkshire pudding and gravy, and a year earlier Jordan Spieth chose Texas barbecue beef brisket and ribs, along with cookies and vanilla ice cream.

Bubba Watson’s Caesar-included 2013 menu nearly caused a breakdown of the UK/US ‘special relationship’. Bubba served the ubiquitous salad, then a grilled chicken breast with corn and mashed potatoes, followed by confetti cake for dessert, which is a cake covered in rainbow coloured sprinkles.