Will all living winners be at the 2025 Masters Champions Dinner? It could happen
Scottie Scheffler announced his Champions Dinner menu on Wednesday, which sparks the question: Will everybody attend?
Since the inception of the stag supper in 1952, only three times has every living champion been seated at the rectangular table: 1965, 1967 and 1999.
Now, with Angel Cabrera — who’s missed the past five dinners — set to return, it’s possible that all living champions could break bread at Augusta National.
“Looking back on 1999, I take great pride knowing we were all there,” said Mark O’Meara, who served steak fajitas as the host.
Over the years, numerous winners have been absent — most notably Jack Burke, Jr.
The 1956 champ missed each reunion from 2012 until his 2024 death, and his reason was the hassle of travel. In 2022, he listed voyaging to the Houston airport, flying to Atlanta, capped by an Interstate 20 commute. For one supper? It wasn’t worth it, Jackie stated.
When pressed to expand, Burke admitted, “The truth is, my friends aren’t there anymore. (Ben) Hogan, Jimmy (Demaret). All of my friends are gone.”
Last April, 33 champions attended, with the exception of Cabrera and Sandy Lyle.
Cabrera, dealing with legal issues, had not been granted a Visa to enter the United States; Lyle remained in Scotland as his wife, Jolanda, battled an ear infection.
“Jolanda tried to get Sandy to come,” 1987 champ Larry Mize said. “But he didn’t want to come without her.”
The trend of absentees started immediately when Ralph Guldahl skipped the first 12 meals.
Then, from 1968 to 1973, Jimmy Demaret chose to stay in Houston, while fellow Texan, Ben Hogan, missed from 1979 until his 1997 passing.
For those lacking a perfect attendance record, each had a reason.
In 1998, Sam Snead suffered a stroke en route to Georgia and spent Tuesday evening in an Augusta hospital. The table signed a menu and had it delivered to Slammin’ Sam’s bedside.
Seve Ballesteros missed 2009-2011 after being diagnosed with brain cancer.
In the winter of 2001, Gay Brewer received a letter from Augusta National chairman Hootie Johnson that urged him to reconsider competing in the 2002 tournament. Brewer said he was “devastated” by the note and didn’t return for two years.
In 2020, during the November Masters, seven former winners (Burke, Cabrera, Tom Watson, Raymond Floyd, Fuzzy Zoeller, Ian Woosnam and Sergio Garcia) missed due to the Covid pandemic.
“I don’t know what the hell to do,” Fuzzy Zoeller said prior to 2020. “We’ll have to be tested at home and then tested again on the grounds at Augusta. It’s a lot of work to go to one dinner, but then again, we’re talking about a very special dinner.”
Fuz stayed home in 2020 — his first vacant seat since hosting in 1980.
The following spring, four (Burke, Cabrera, Watson, Tiger Woods) failed to make the trip, as Woods recovered from a February car accident.
It was Tiger’s first skipped supper, while it remains uncertain if he will attend this year.
For Charles Coody, it’s been 53 years since he hosted his only supper. But it's the missing faces that still haunt him.
“It was one of the greatest nights of my life,” Coody said. “The only thing missing were Burke, Hogan and Demaret.
"I would’ve given anything for them to be there.”
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Masters Champions Dinner 2025 might have all living winners
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