Sergio Garcia 2018
Garcia’s starter was an ‘international salad’ with ingredients representing each nationality in attendance. A commendable attempt at diplomacy, although you wonder how it all came together. Then came Spanish lobster rice, the sort of option you go for when Augusta National pays for the ingredients. Dessert was a cake made by wife Angela.
Danny Willett 2017
Americans unfairly dismiss English food as bland, unseasoned slop and it was up to Sheffield’s Danny Willett to change that impression 12 months after his shock win. Mini cottage pies to start surely did little to dissuade them that we are stodge merchants, but roast beef and Yorkshire pudding offered the heritage by which our cousins across the Atlantic are often seduced. Apple crumble and vanilla custard for dessert. Tasty, but might leave you rolling up and down the hills of Augusta.
Jordan Spieth 2016
Salad to start (again), although perhaps wise to err on the side of lightness before a Texas barbecue spread which featured beef brisket, smoked half chicken and pork ribs, with baked beans and other sides. Like Scheffler, chocolate-chip cookies and ice cream for dessert. If Spieth talks as much at the table as he does on the course, you wonder how he found time to eat it all.
Bubba Watson, 2015 and 2013
Caesar salad to start (surely now a Masters tradition in itself). Grilled chicken breast for main course is austere, the go-to choice of disciplinarian Italian football managers and safety-first wedding planners. The remainder of the menu is Dr Atkins’ worst nightmare with mashed potatoes AND mac and cheese AND cornbread. Confetti cake keeps up the wedding vibe.
What are some other Masters traditions?
The Crow’s Nest
A small and plain flat at the top of the clubhouse, the Crow’s Nest is where the amateurs who have been invited (or in reality, qualified) to play in the Masters stay. The likes of Jack Nicklaus, Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods have all slept there. Called the Crow’s Nest because it can only be reached by ladder. Hardly luxurious.
The Butler Cabin
Constructed in 1964 and named after Augusta member Thomas Butler, the Butler Cabin is a property close to the clubhouse where the Masters winner is presented with his green jacket. It looks as if he is sitting down for a fireside chat with the previous winner, Augusta’s chairman and CBS broadcaster Jim Nantz. Critics suggest it is one of the most toe-curling presentations in all of sport.
The Champions Locker Room
It does what it says on the tin: only past Masters champions are allowed to change into their spikes in the Champions Locker Room. An exclusive enclave within an exclusive enclave.
The Par Three Contest
Augusta also has a nine-hole par-three course which hosts a competition on the Wednesday before the tournament. Players tend to be joined by wives, children and other family members for a light-hearted knock-around. They do keep score, but no player has ever won the Masters after winning the Par Three Contest, leading to suggestions it is cursed.
Skimming across the 16th
On the par-three 16th during their practice rounds, players will place a ball on the downslope at the front of the tee and try to skim their ball across the water, bouncing bomb style. The galleries around the hole get involved, and some of these shots have even been holed (they do not go in the record books of course).
