Former Masters champion Danny Willett was convinced Scottie Scheffler was attempting to "kill off" the competition at his Champions Dinner. Or at least that was the impression he got after sampling his menu.

Willett, who triumphed at Augusta National back in 2016, was present three years ago for Scheffler's first Champions Dinner. The Texan claimed the first of his two titles in 2022, meaning the decision of what would be served to the gathering of previous winners fell to him 12 months later. Although born in New Jersey, Scheffler grew up in Dallas from the age of six. It's evident that his years spent so close to the southern border have shaped his palate after he served up a fiery dish that put several of his fellow Green Jacket-owners to the test.

"It was f***ing rocket fuel," Willett told the Daily Mail. "It was a Mexican tortilla soup. I asked him if he was trying to kill us all off. Brutal. We're sat at that table and sweating."

In many respects, it seems entirely fitting the hottest golfer in the sport right now should select a dish so laden with spice for his champion's meal. And Willett was far from the only guest who struggled with the heat.

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"One spoonful was too much for me," Sir Nick Faldo told Golf.com in 2023, clearly finding himself well out of his comfort zone on the Scoville scale. "It was way too hot, too spicy."

Sandy Lyle, who won the Masters in 1988, commented: "I had to sort of swab the top of my head because it was perspiring. I think [Fred] Couples was like holding his throat, 'Oh, my god'. So it caught a few people by surprise."

The late Fuzzy Zoeller (1979 champion), who died in November 2025, said he "about gagged" after tasting Scheffler's soup. And he wasn't the only one unable to finish it, as two-time winner Jose Maria Olazabal confessed: "It had a little bit of kick."

In Scheffler's defence, he himself has acknowledged he didn't expect the soup to be as spicy as it turned out. Or so he claims, anyway.

It did little to help Scheffler retain his crown, however, as Jon Rahm went on to claim his own Green Jacket. Scheffler had to settle for 10th place, though he did go on to triumph at the Masters for a second time the following year (2024).

He took those reviews on board by scaling back his menu for the 2025 Champions Dinner. Notably, the tortilla soup was dropped entirely and swapped for a Texas-style chili, remaining faithful to his home state roots.

The change appeared to do the trick given Scheffler attracted no further accusations of culinary assassination once the new dish was served. Nevertheless, he returns to Augusta this week with his sights firmly set on conquering the competition by entirely legitimate means.