DORAL — Sergio Garcia calls it "one of the most special nights we have all year."
Phil Mickelson is in awe of the stories told throughout the night, especially during dessert.
Bernhard Langer likens it to a "family dinner," at least until Sam Snead started telling "dirty jokes" at the end of the night.
"To be able to sit in that room with so many champions, so many amazing stories, it's great," Garcia said. "It's great."
The "Champions Dinner," formerly known as the "Masters Club," is the most exclusive annual gathering of royalty not just in golf but all sports. Each year on the Tuesday of Masters week, two days before the first round, the clubhouse at Augusta National hosts a dinner. Only Masters winners, of which there are 35 currently living, and the chairman of Augusta National are invited.
No wives. No significant others. No caddies. No one else.
They arrive wearing their green jackets, gathering in the Masters Club Room, which is the second-floor locker room and lounge in which only past champions are allowed.
An open bar is followed by a group picture at 7:30 p.m., which is followed by dinner with the only other people in the world who can relate to what each experienced at one of the most prestigious sporting events in the world.
Dinner is held in a room known as the "Library," appropriate considering the history in this room has filled hundreds of books. The defending champion is presented with an inscribed gold locket, signifying his entry into the "Masters Club," and speaks before the food arrives.
Then ... they talk, they listen, they tell stories. Plenty of stories.
"I heard things I had never heard before," said
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