Tiger Woods’ special seat at the annual Masters dinner was confirmed by a former winner at Augusta
Tiger Woods has his own seat at the annual Masters dinner(Image: Getty)
Adam Scott echoed the sentiments of Scottie Scheffler and Jordan Spieth in their agreement to not sit next to Tiger Woods at the annual Masters dinner. As part of the tradition at the Augusta National Golf Club, a Champions Dinner is hosted two days before the tournament begins – with the 90th edition of the major starting on Thursday.
The hosting of the dinner this week, which features former Masters winners throughout the decades, is the responsibility of defending champion Rory McIlroy. However, when it comes to the seating arrangement of the night, circumstances are less formal, at least officially.
While there is no protocol on where you should sit, it’s known that there are some sections where only a select few are able to sit, with that group consisting of the likes of Woods and 18-time major champion Jack Nicklaus.
Adam Scott – who won the Masters in 2013 – will be present at the lavish dinner on Tuesday and during his appearance on The Rick Shiels Golf Show, he confirmed Scheffler and Spieth’s statement that it’s an unwritten rule you don’t sit next to Woods and Nicklaus.
The Australian golfer said: “There are a few seats that are like absolutely reserved. You don’t sit in Jack’s seat, don’t sit in Tiger’s seat. Everyone else kind of ends up in a similar place year after year and the year that you win and you’re hosting the dinner, you’re [at] the the head of the table for that one time.
READ MORE: Tiger Woods made Masters dinner feelings clear as two stars said they won’t sit with himREAD MORE: Three Masters champions set to miss Augusta including golf legend ‘struggling to walk’
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“Then, you’ve got to find your seat which is also daunting and I just ran down the left side to Trevor Immelman. We’d been buddies since junior golfers, so I was like, ‘Right, I’m going to sit next to my mate for the rest of our lives at this dinner.'”
Two-time Masters winner Scheffler explained the seating arrangement during a press conference at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, as he said: “Zach [Woods] and Jordan [Spieth] always sat next to each other, and I definitely didn’t ask Jordan to sit by him, because he would have done something to make sure that I didn’t have a place to sit.
Scottie Scheffler and Jordan Spieth both agreed not to sit next to Tiger Woods at the Masters dinner(Image: Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
“So I kind of looked at Zach, I was like, ‘Hey, where are you sitting this year?’ And he told me, and he was nice and let me join him. But I definitely wasn’t going to ask Jordan for that because he would have messed with me.”
Scheffler admitted that while seats aren’t assigned, there is a presence of some protocol, as he explained: “There’s a little protocol. Guys have, like, I would say, sections where they sit. But you move around a little bit. There are no necessarily assigned seats, but I’m definitely not going to sit in the area where Tiger and Jack sit.
“Like, there are kinds of spots where you feel you’ll naturally flow into.” 2015 winner Spieth compared the seating arrangement to being back at school, admitting the section involving Woods and Nicklaus is a no-go zone.
The Masters Champions Dinner is held every year before the start of the major(Image: The Masters)
“It’s kind of like 6th, 7th grade,” the 32-year-old said. “If the teacher they have assigned seats you get all bummed, and if they let you sit wherever you want you end up sitting in the same spot anyways. It’s kind of the same deal.
“Sit with Scottie [Scheffler], but then when Scottie wins, you know, he’s done that twice in the last three or four or so. There’s a certain section on the far side from where we sit where you don’t sit, because it’s Jack and Tiger. And that’s where Arnie [Palmer] was.”
Woods’ spot will remain vacant this week, however, after he announced his decision to step away from golf amid his car crash. The golf icon was arrested and charged with driving under the influence earlier this week after clipping a truck and rolling his car, but pleaded not guilty.
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