The 2025 Masters begins this week with the Par 3 contest on Wednesday and official tournament play beginning a day later. But it all ceremoniously begins with the Masters dinner.
Scheduled for the Tuesday of Masters week every year, it is a feast of extraordinary proportions, the menu set by the winner of the previous year’s tournament. This year, that honor belongs to Scottie Scheffler.
The venue is predetermined, with former Masters winners and the Augusta National chairman all gathering in the Augusta National clubhouse.
Here’s everything to know about this year’s dinner.
What time is the Masters dinner?
The time for the dinner is pretty flexible, but drinks usually start getting poured around 6:30 p.m. ET with dinner starting around 7 p.m. in the Masters Club Room. Right before dinner starts, a group photo is taken with all the attendees. The photo usually takes place around 7:30 p.m.
Scottie Scheffler Masters dinner menu
Scheffler’s dinner will have four stages: appetizers, first course, main course, and dessert. His list of appetizers includes:
- Cheeseburger sliders: served “Scottie-style”
- Firecracker shrimp: Sweet Thai chili, sriracha mayo
- “Papa Scheff’s” meatball and ravioli bites: Pecorino cheese, tomato basil sauce
The first course is a much simpler offering of Texas-style chili, which consists of jalapeños, cheddar cheese, and corn chips (traditionally Fritos are often used in this dish). The main course offers two options: Guests will decide between a wood-fired cowboy ribeye or blackened redfish. The sides consist of Family-style macaroni and cheese, jalapeño creamed corn, soy glazed brussels sprouts, and chipotle-lime roasted sweet potatoes.
Finally, dessert will be a chocolate chip skillet cookie topped with vanilla bean ice cream. Classic.
What did Scottie Scheffler serve in 2023?
This isn’t Scheffler’s first time hosting the dinner. He also won the tournament in 2022. So, is his menu this year similar to what he offered in 2023?
Two of the appetizers remain exactly the same, with both the cheeseburger sliders and firecracker shrimp making another appearance. The meatball and ravioli bites are new.
The first course is entirely different, though. In 2023, Scheffler offered tortilla soup with avocado, cilantro, sour cream, lime, and crispy blue tortilla strips.
Mostly everything else is the same, including the ribeye or blackened redfish as the main course with a chocolate chip skillet cookie for dessert. There are some minor changes (in 2023 the ice cream served with the cookie was “milk & cookies” rather than vanilla bean). Also, Scheffler did not offer sweet potatoes as a side for the main course in 2023, instead opting for more traditional fries.
When did the Masters dinner tradition begin?
The Masters dinner started in 1952, when Ben Hogan invited previous Masters winners to attend a dinner at Augusta National ahead of that year’s tournament. At the time, there were only 10 different people who’d won the Masters. According to reports, all previous Masters winners attended except 1939 champion Ralph Guldahl.
Will Tiger Woods attend Masters dinner?
There has been no official word regarding Tiger Woods’ presence at the Masters dinner. Although Woods will not be participating in the tournament this year due to an injury to his left Achilles tendon, injuries have not stopped him from attending dinners in the past.
According to Golf Digest, Woods has attended every dinner he was eligible to attend except the 2021 dinner, which was held just two months after Woods suffered a serious car accident.
Winners don’t like to miss Masters dinner
Traditionally, former Masters winners have moved heaven and earth to get to the dinner. In 1999, Jack Nicklaus needed hip replacement surgery, forcing him to miss his first Masters tournament in 40 years, yet he still found time to attend the dinner. The 1987 winner, Larry Mize, once famously said that he would continue going to every dinner, “even if they have to carry me up the stairs one day.”
Despite this, there have only been three instances – 1965, 1967, 1999 – where all living winners attended the dinner. Over the last five years, it’s been 2009 winner Angel Cabrera who has failed to show, due to legal issues preventing him from getting a visa to enter the United States. However, he will be returning this year, per reports. Last year, only he and 1988 winner Sandy Lyle did not attend. Lyle stayed in Scotland with his wife as she battled an ear infection. During the dinner, Mize claimed that Lyle’s wife wanted Lyle to attend but he refused to come without her.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: When is the Masters dinner? Will Tiger Woods show up?