Zach Johnson, unabashedly, says he loves to eat, so his opinion on food may have to be taken with, well, a pinch or two of salt.
That said, though, Scottie Scheffler’s Masters Champions Dinner was enjoyed as much as a tap-in putt. Cheeseburger sliders? Firecracker shrimp? ‘Papa Scheff’s’ meatball and ravioli bites? Texas-style chili? Wood-fired cowboy ribeye? Blackened redfish? Warm chocolate chip skillet cookie? Yes, Johnson said.
To all of it.
“It’s my favorite reservation of the year, for obvious reasons, and I love to eat,” he said. “Scottie’s meal was amazing. I walked out of there not very comfortable, but that’s the intent. I eat way too much.”
Talking this week on the “Gravy & The Sleeze” show on SiriusXM PGA Tour Radio, Johnson said he and Jordan Spieth even replaced a word on Scheffler’s menu. The main dishes — wood-fired cowboy ribeye and blackened redfish — were offered as an ‘or,’ as in one or the other.
But Johnson and Spieth edited that to ‘and,’ as in they ate both.
“We don’t hesitate to ask for more or to be a little bit, you know, indulgent in that regard,” Johnson said on the show.
Held the Tuesday before the Masters, the dinner and its details tend to be eaten up by folks, which is perhaps the result of the meal’s exclusivity (only former winners and Fred Ridley, the Augusta National and Masters chairman, attend) and its location (ANGC is one of the most private clubs in the world). The menu unveiling, in fact, is released on social media, as are short videos.
On SiriusXM, Johnson said he was impressed by Scheffler’s job as host, granted to him as the previous year’s winner.
“Scottie did a great job,” Johnson said. “He was very, very good at what he said. Ben Crenshaw is, man, just pure class and the model pro when it comes to emceeing and explaining and articulating what the Masters is all about. And, obviously, chairman Ridley, he loves being there. I guess, technically, we invite him, which is kind of odd, but we do.
“And he’s amazing. So it’s an awesome night. I do not take it for granted and love every second of it.”
Would he offer any dinner advice for Rory McIlroy, who last week won his first Masters?
“I mean, yeah, if it comes up, I’ll definitely put my two cents in,” Johnson said on SiriusXM, “but it’ll be really brief, and it will be very blunt: Serve what you like. I mean, shoot, we’ve had — I remember [Charl] Schwartzel and Trevor [Immelman] both had some awesome South African dishes, Angel [Cabrera] had an amazing dish.
“So, bring it. Like, whatever you want, bring it. We’ll eat it. I mean, the guys will appreciate it. So, it’ll be a heavy bill, but you’re going to want to pay for it again and again and again.
“That’s also the beauty of it. But, I mean, incorporate who you are. That’d be my advice. Like, I don’t know if you can do that in food, but you don’t have to worry about everybody. Everybody’s got different palates.
“So just do what you think is best and have fun making the menu because it’s not like you get to do it every year necessarily. You know, Rory could sit at the head of that table a few more times, for sure. But relish the first one because it’s special.”
