Masters dinner could be 'tense,' former champ says

Ben Crenshaw. Michael Madrid-USA TODAY Sports

Former Masters champion explains why dinner could be 'tense' this year

By Chelena Goldman | Last updated 3/22/23

Typically, the champion's dinner held ahead of The Masters doesn't garner much attention outside of what is going to be on the menu. (And there is no denying the Texas BBQ-inspired spread Scottie Scheffler has put together sounds pretty darn tasty.)

But of course, this year's feast at Augusta National Golf Club features the first time some PGA Tour players and LIV Golf defectors will break bread. And two-time Masters winner Ben Crenshaw admits that things could be a little "difficult."

"It's probably going to be tense in a few moments I suppose," Crenshaw told Golf Today on Monday, roughly two weeks before the big dinner will take place.

"It's probably going to be tense in a few moments."

There will be several LIV Golfers at the Masters Champions Dinner this year, which makes two-time champion Ben Crenshaw think it may be a bit less cordial than previous dinners. pic.twitter.com/YGTiw1Bf6Y
— Golf Today (@GCGolfToday) March 20, 2023

Golf fans and media outlets alike have been trying to get a preemptive vibe check on the Champions Dinner ever since it was announced that qualifying LIV Golfers would be allowed to compete for a green jacket in 2023. There has been some joking about having champs from both leagues at a table together a la Bubba Watson, who quipped that he would sit and eat his meal outside if that's what Scheffler wanted.

However, the overall consensus is that things are going to be a little awkward, which is something Crenshaw doesn't like seeing in the sport.

"In my mind, it's a little bit disruptive," Crenshaw said of the PGA vs. LIV soap opera. "I'm very old-fashioned. I don't particularly like what's going on. I think the worst thing to me is that it's fractured some relationships from player to player, and golf's never really been that way."

We'll just have to wait and see how this dinner goes down on Tuesday ahead of the 2023 Masters next month.

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