Ranking the top ten traditions in The Masters Tournament history

If you’ve ever had the privilege of attending the Masters in person, you already knew this had to make the list. Heck, even if you haven’t been, the legend of the pimento cheese sandwich has spread around the golf world. And once you’re inside those historic gates, it’s basically ambrosia, straight from the heavens above to your taste buds.

Okay, so maybe that’s a bit of an exaggeration, but the sandwich itself is still the most famous concession item at any sporting event on the planet. Priced at just $1.50 – pennies compared to even the cheapest hot dog at any MLB ballpark – one could survive for the entire week on these, with just a single $20 bill. Even if you don’t particularly like the unique blend of cheese, mayonnaise and sweet peppers on plain white bread, it’s something any visitor should try at least once.

The sandwich has changed recipes just once in over 50 years, when Augusta National changed vendors. From the 1960s into the 2000s, Nick Rangos of Aiken, South Carolina ran production, and even though his wasn’t the original, it was the sandwich that everybody identified with the Masters. The story has been told many times (including this piece by Andy Bull of the Guardian), but it hasn’t been the same since he left. Not for lack of trying, of course. There’s simply something – and nobody can really place it – still missing to this day.

Still, even the second-best pimento cheese is something everyone should try once. Wash it down with an equally cheap sweet tea and a Georgia peach ice cream sandwich (another story entirely), and you’ve got the breakfast (and lunch, and dinner) of champions.