Hilton Head, SC …
It had only been two days since Sergio Garcia was fitted with a Masters green jacket and he’s already got one eye on next year’s Champions Dinner at the 2018 Masters.
Finally, after 74 Major appearances Garcia gets to host a champions dinner and while he still has 12 months to work on the menu, he revealed is already in the planning stages.
“It’s definitely going to be a typical Spanish dish,” he said.
“It’s going to be delicious, I can tell you that, and it’s going to be one of my favourite dishes in Spain. I’m sure that people will be thrilled with it.”
It’s going to be the first Spanish hosted dinner since Jose Maria Olazabal defending for a second time in 2000. That year, he presented a a “tapas table” that also included grilled filet of beef and broiled grouper.
But then it has not just been Olazabal or late Seve Ballesteros to offer a Spanish theme as Phil Mickelson served seafood paella, tortilla espanola and manchego-topped beef in 2011 as an homage to Ballesteros who was too ill to attend the dinner and died a few weeks later from brain cancer.
Garcia indicated also he will not return to competition to the May 11th starting Players Championship at Ponte Vedre in Flordia.
Garcia won the event two years ago and also in a play-off.
“It should be great fun going back to the players and being introduced as the Masters Champion,” he said.
“But like I said on Sunday when I won at Augusta, we are not done yet.
“It has been an amazing year so far but I still want to keep getting better. I feel I can get better. I feel also I want to work hard on it”.
