Players gathered for the Masters Champions Dinner on Tuesday evening.
mastery
AUGUSTA, Ga. — On Teachers Sunday a year ago, Jon Rahm was not the only Spanish golfer on the minds of golf fans.
Many thought of the end Sap Ballesterosbecause it was hard not to – and not just because Ballesteros won two green jackets.
Rahm triumphed at Augusta National on April 9, which would have been Ballesteros’ 66th birthday. Another happy coincidence was that Rahm’s caddy, Adam Hayes, wore bib No. 49, which had been assigned to him by tournament organizers when his boss was the 49th player to register earlier in the week; If you are the sentimental type, you may have interpreted this “49” as 4/9, or April 9. Shortly after his victory, Rahm came across a photoshopped image of him and Ballesteros shaking hands on the 18th green. As Rahm absorbed the emotional photo, his wife, Kelley, was with him. “I looked at her, I looked at the phone and the next time she looked, I just had tears on my face, instant screaming, crying,” Rahm recalled last year. “This photo of Seve really touched me.”
Rahm returns to Augusta National this week in the role of defending champion. This title comes with heavier expectations, more enthusiastic and media requests and the significant duty to host the Legendary Champions Dinner, for which players gathered on the second floor of the clubhouse Tuesday evening. With the help of the Spanish super chef José Andrés, Rahm had been preparing his Basque-themed menu for months. Among his selections: Txangurro Ensaladawhich is a crab salad; Lentejas Estofadasa lentil stew inspired by Rahm’s grandmother’s recipe; Chuleton a la Parrilla, a smoked and pan-fried ribeye; And Rodaballo al Pil-Pil, a fish dish made with turbot and white asparagus from Navarre. And Rahm’s choice of wines? A Rioja Imperial Gran Réserve 2012.
As any good host does, Rahm arrived early to his Tuesday party. He said he wanted to get comfortable. Butterflies ? Yeah, just a few, especially when getting up from his post at the top of the draw and addressing his fellow champions.
“I was so nervous I think I passed out for a second,” Rahm said Wednesday morning on Masters Live. “I have no idea what I said.”
Nick Faldo do.
The three-time champion sat in what he calls the “southern hemisphere” corner of the table, close to Gary Player, Adam Scott and Trevor Immelman.
On Wednesday morning, Faldo told GOLF.com that Rahm kept his remarks tight.
“He said he was very humbled and honored to be a part of the club – it’s that simple,” Faldo said. “You know, it’s pretty intimidating to sit there for the first time and think that the whole history of golf is right there in front of you.”
Fuzzy Zoeller, the 1979 champion, added: “Jon did what past champions are supposed to do. Get up, say a few words and sit down.
This Tuesday, Seve’s birthday was not lost on the room, Faldo said, especially among the three Spaniards present: José María Olazabal, Sergio Garcia and the host of the meal.
“We told more Seve stories, Ryder Cup stories than anything else,” Faldo said, adding that he, for one, hadn’t heard any anecdotes he didn’t already know. “I was there for all the famous shots,” he says with a laugh.
Faldo said Rahm was more reserved when it came to thinking about Ballesteros’ influence on him. “He said, ‘You know what Seve means to me,’ but didn’t really elaborate. I think he was very emotional and trying to keep his emotions in check. He told us this several times.
The fact that Rahm was the first LIV player to host a Champions Dinner didn’t seem to faze anyone, nor did the fractured state of professional golf seem like a hot topic. Dinner was just…dinner.
“The food was exceptional and the whole evening was great,” Zoeller said. “But it’s still good. I don’t know why you always think there’s something going on at dinner that no one knows about. There are only 34 people having dinner and talking about ancient war times. That’s all it was.
One of the old moments that resurfaced was the 2020 Masters, which the club hosted in the fall due to the Covid pandemic. Just after the dinner ended, Dustin Johnson referenced his five-shot victory that year in a conversation with Fred Ridley, Augusta National President.
“He said, ‘You know, I think my 20 under is safe,'” Ridley said at a news conference Wednesday, referring to the record 72-hole total (65-70-65-68) that Johnson posted that week.
“And I said, ‘Well, I think you’re right, unless we have another tournament in November.’
“And he said, ‘Well, I think it’s still safe.'”
As for how Rahm’s menu was received?
Both Faldo and Zoeller praised the rib-eye, and Faldo also vouched for the Spanish potato omlettea Spanish omelette with onions and candied potatoes.
The only dish Zoeller said he hadn’t tried was Mama Rahm’s legendary stew — but for good reason.
If he’d had a bowl, Zoeller said with a smile, “I wouldn’t have had room for anything else.”
