Masters winner reveals Augusta chef messed up vital part of his Champions Dinner

Danny Willett has joked the chefs at Augusta National ruined a key component of his Masters Champions Dinner.

A decade ago, England’s Willett won the 2016 Masters Tournament, capitalising on a final round collapse from Jordan Spieth to secure the Green Jacket.

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Willett shot a final round 67 at Augusta to race up the leaderboard as Spieth suffered a quadruple bogey on the famous par 3 12th to let the trophy slip from his grasp.

Willett’s win is the crowning moment of his career and he enjoyed all the perks that come with being a Masters Champion.

One of those is hosting the annual Champions Dinner on the eve of the event.

Each year the defending winner lays on a hand picked feast for his fellow champions as they gather in their Green Jackets on the Tuesday of tournament week to share drinks, stories and, of course, the special meal.

Willett, born in Sheffield, chose to serve up a traditional Sunday roast with all the trimmings plus apple crumble for dessert.

While he says his fellow players enjoyed the meal with good gusto, the chefs at the iconic Georgia golf complex couldn’t quite perfect the Yorkshire puddings.

Willett told talkSPORT: “We had a Sunday roast, obviously – we had to introduce the boys to some proper Yorkshire food.

“The Yorkshire puddings were a little flat – chef must have opened the door!

“We had a roast, apple crumble, a few glasses of vino.

“The boys seemed to enjoy it, there were some empty plates and that’s good enough for me.”

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In past years, Tiger Woods has served up cheeseburgers and milkshakes, Nick Faldo put on fish and chips and Sandy Lyle showcased haggis.

Last year, world number one Scottie Scheffler had the honour of picking the menu following his win 12 months prior.

Scheffler laid on wood-fired ribeye steaks, blackened redfish, Texas-style chilli, chocolate chip cookie skillets and his now infamous ‘Scottie-style’ sliders.

He was joined by Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player, Phil Mickelson, Nick Faldo and the rest of the former champions on the Tuesday evening before he began his title defence.

This year, Rory McIlroy will, of course, have the duty of hosting.

He is the first man from the island of Ireland to win the Masters so Irish stew, colcannon, soda bread, boxty or even a spice bag could well be the offerings.

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McIlroy’s incredible victory at Augusta last year was full of twists and turns in one of the most exciting majors of all time.

The triumph saw him become the sixth Grand Slam champion in golfing history and he is now ready to return as a Masters winner for the first time.

While he’ll have plenty of pre-tournament obligations to undertake, McIlroy is excited for a ‘stress-free’ week with the burden of trying to win at Augusta now lifted.

He said: “It’s a dream come true to drive down Magnolia Lane in a Green Jacket.

“It’s the one I wanted for so long and I’m obviously so thankful and grateful that I got to do it and I had my family there to see me do it as well. 

“There is only positive vibes going into this Masters, which maybe hasn’t been the case over the last few seasons.

“I’m looking forward to a slightly more stress-free build-up to the Masters.”

The 2026 Masters Tournament will begin on Thursday April 9.