"I’m not sure what is going to happen"- Ben Crenshaw 'concerned' ahead of 2023 Masters Champions Dinner amidst LIV-PGA Tour tension
Ben Crenshaw is a little 'concerned' about the Masters' Champions Dinner, which will take place on Tuesday, April 4. This time, the Champions Dinner is going to be different because, unlike previous years, professionals from the PGA Tour and LIV Golf will be facing each other after a long time amidst tensions between the players from both rival fractions.
Former golfer Crenshaw now hosts the Champions Dinner and will look after the proceedings for a special dinner ahead of the Masters. The Champions Dinner is all about honoring the Masters Champion. Only past winners and Augusta National Golf Club chairman Fred Ridley were invited to the dinner.
Crenshaw told Sports Illustrated:
“I’m a little concerned to be honest. I’m not sure what is going to happen. I’m expecting that cooler heads will prevail and everything will be fine."
Crenshaw has been hosting the Champions Dinner since 1985 after his win at Augusta National the previous year. He went on to win the tournament in 1995 as well. Since 2005 he is hosting the dinner as an unofficial host.
Past Masters winners like Phil Mickelson, Charl Schwartzel, Bubba Watson, Sergio Garcia, Patrick Reed, and Dustin Johnson have now joined the LIV Golf.
Earlier this year, Reed threw a tee towards Rory McIlroy when he didn't respond to the former's 'hello'. McIlroy later told the media that he wasn't comfortable interacting with anyone from LIV, also mentioning that Reed had sent him a subpoena on Christmas Eve.
During this year's Genesis Invitational, Tiger Woods also talked about the uncertainty over the Champions Dinner.
In his press conference, he said:
"I know that some of our friendships have certainly taken a different path. But we'll see when all that transpires. That is still a couple months away."
Woods suggested that the Champions dinner should center around honoring the current champion, Scottie Scheffler, rather than causing discomfort for him and fellow golfers due to external tensions.
"We as a whole need to honor Scottie, Scottie's the winner, it's his dinner."
It will be interesting to see how things turn out when the two groups meet at the Champions Dinner, which is scheduled for Tuesday.
The field for the upcoming 2023 Masters
Here's the confirmed list of players competing at the upcoming Masters so far:
- Abraham Ancer
- Adam Scott
- Adam Svensson
- Adrian Meronk
- Alex Noren
- Bernhard Langer
- Billy Horschel
- Brian Harman
- Brooks Koepka
- Bryson DeChambeau
- Bubba Watson
- Cameron Champ
- Cameron Smith
- Cameron Young
- Charl Schwartzel
- Chris Kirk
- Collin Morikawa
- Corey Conners
- Danny Willett
- Dustin Johnson
- Francesco Molinari
- Fred Couples
- Gary Woodland
- Harold Varner
- Harris English
- Hideki Matsuyama
- J T Poston
- Jason Day
- Jason Kokrak
- Joaquin Niemann
- Jon Rahm
- Joohyung (Tom) Kim
- Jordan Spieth
- Jose Maria Olazabal
- Justin Rose
- Justin Thomas
- K H Lee
- Kazuki Higa
- Keegan Bradley
- Keith Mitchell
- Kevin Kisner
- Kevin Na
- Kurt Kitayama
- Larry Mize
- Louis Oosthuizen
- Mackenzie Hughes
- Matthew Fitzpatrick
- Max Homa
- Mike Weir
- Min Woo Lee
- Mito Pereira
- Patrick Cantlay
- Patrick Reed
- Phil Mickelson
- Rory McIlroy
- Russell Henley
- Ryan Fox
- Sahith Theegala
- Sam Burns
- Sandy Lyle
- Scott Stallings
- Scottie Scheffler
- Seamus Power
- Sepp Straka
- Sergio Garcia
- Shane Lowry
- Si-Woo Kim
- Sungjae Im
- Talor Gooch
- Taylor Moore
- Thomas Pieters
- Tiger Woods
- Tom Hoge
- Tommy Fleetwood
- Tony Finau
- Tyrrell Hatton
- Vijay Singh
- Viktor Hovland
- Will Zalatoris
- Xander Schauffele
- Zach Johnson