Tiger Woods has skipped the annual Masters dinner this year after all.
Woods was not with the group of former winners who gathered for the winner’s at the Augusta National clubhouse on Tuesday night. While that’s not too surprising, as Woods is not in the field this week while he recovers from his Achilles injury he sustained last month, the Masters dinner isn’t typically something former winners skip if they can help it.
Woods ruptured his left Achilles while training at home last month, which led to surgery and has since knocked him out indefinitely. It’s unclear how long he will be sidelined, but Woods likely won’t try to compete again on the PGA Tour this season. This will be just the fifth Masters he’s missed since making his debut as an amateur in 1995.
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Woods hasn’t been spotted in Augusta this week ahead of the first major championship of the year, either. He made an announcement regarding a new 9-hole short course and a TGR Learning Lab in Augusta with the course on Monday, though he did so remotely. Outside of confirming his relationship with Vanessa Trump, and a perfectly-timed April Fools joke, Woods has been very quiet since his injury.
The Masters dinner is a long-running tradition that Ben Hogan started back in 1952. He invited previous winners to join him for dinner ahead of that year’s tournament, and it’s carried on ever since. Woods, who has won the Masters five times in his career, has attended every dinner that he’s been eligible for except in 2021, which came just a few months after his Southern California car crash.
Typically, all living winners attend the dinner — though that’s something that’s actually only happened a handful of times. Last season, only Ángel Cabrera and Sandy Lyle missed the winner. Cabrera is back in the field this week for the first time since his arrest and imprisonment in South America, and Lyle opted to miss the dinner to remain home in Scotland with his sick wife.
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Despite Woods’ absence, the dinner went on as planned with host Scottie Scheffler running the show. Scheffler picked the menu, which included cheeseburger sliders, wood-fired cowboy ribeye, Texas-style chili and a chocolate chip skillet cookie for dessert, among other things.
The menu is similar to what Scheffler served in 2023 after he picked up his first Masters win. Scheffler, who is still the top-ranked golfer in the world, is the betting favorite entering the week. Rory McIlroy, who is searching for his first major championship win in more than a decade, is close behind him.
While it’s unknown when Woods will take the course again at Augusta National, his spot at the Masters dinner will be waiting for him whenever he’s ready.