McIlroy’s Masters dinner: What is on the menu, who attends and who pays?!

Rory McIlroy previously called adding to his major tally the “final piece of the puzzle”, with that win now allowing him to sit at the head of a special golfing dinner table ahead of his Masters title defence.

Ever since Ben Hogan invited all past Masters champions to dine together ahead of his title defence in 1952, the “Masters Club” – aka the “Champions Dinner” – has become an annual tradition at Augusta National.

Other than tournaments co-founders Bobby Jones and Clifford Roberts being included as honorary members for early editions, only past winners of the Green Jacket and the current Masters chairman have since been allowed to attend the event each year.

The Champions Dinner is held on the Tuesday of Masters week and will feature McIlroy for the first time, following him defeating Justin Rose in a play-off 12 months ago to end his elusive wait for a fifth major title.

As well as being the only player over the past year allowed to take their Green Jacket outside the gates of Augusta National, McIlroy’s privilege as reigning champion includes setting the menu – and the drinks list on offer – for those past champions able to attend this year’s Champions Dinner.

“I’ll just be incredibly grateful that I’m a part of it,” McIlroy said on Sunday. “I want to share that with everyone in the room. It is the most exclusive dinner club in all of sport and I think we should all feel very fortunate that we are there.

“We’re there because of the hard work and the good play that we’ve been able to produce.”

Who attends the Champions Dinner?

Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson will both be absent from this year’s edition, with Woods unavailable after ‘stepping away’ from golf – following last month’s car crash – and Mickelson missing due to a ‘personal health matter’ in his family.

“Unfortunately, there’ll be a couple of guys that won’t be in that room, which is a shame,” Mcllroy added. “I want to make sure that they’re acknowledged as well – they’ve been two of the greatest champions that The Masters has ever seen.”

All living past Masters champions are welcome, even if they no longer compete in the tournament itself, with multiple major winners Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player and Tom Watson among those who traditionally attend.

“The thing that I really is number one, they make the effort to come back because of how much it means to them, and number two, for those couple of hours, you see the kid come out of them again,” former Masters champion Trevor Immelman told the Sky Sports Golf podcast.

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“You can see how much they enjoy being there, how much they enjoy reminiscing about their experiences at The Masters when they won. Sometimes they even talk about when they lost down the stretch or when they felt like they let one get away – there’s so many great nuggets!

“To see these legends of the game, in their minds, roll back the clock and be like a little eight-year-old on Christmas morning – that excitement, that twinkle in the eye. At some point, I’ll lean back in my chair and go, ‘this is this is really something special’.”

Who sits where for the Champions Dinner?

Immelman added: “When you’re defending champion like Rory [McIlroy] is this year, he’ll sit up at the end of the table, next to the chairman [Fred Ridley] and Ben Crenshaw.

“Ben MCs and has done for many years. After that, there’s no assigned seating but everyone just kind of knows their spot. From 2010 onward, I just gravitated down to the opposite end of the table.

“The whole evening is just so tremendous from start to finish. It just goes by in a blink of an eye and you always leave there thinking, ‘gosh, I could have sat here for two more hours’.

“You have a blast with all of these legends that I’ve looked up to my whole life and tried to emulate in some way my whole life. It’s just the absolute best.”

What is on McIlroy’s menu for the Champions Dinner?

McIlroy revealed his Champions Dinner menu last month, with a spread of dishes and wines – from a variety of regions and eras – all offering different significance to him.

The bacon-wrapped dates among the appetisers are inspired by a dish made by McIlroy’s mother Rosie, while the yellowfin tuna carpaccio first course is a dish selected due to it being served in his and wife Erica’ favourite New York restaurant.

Among the sides to accompany the mains of wagyu filet mignon or seared salmon is ‘traditional Irish Champ’, a dish McIlroy used to eat ‘by the bowlful’ as a kid, with the wine he drank the night he won The Masters – the 1990 Chateau Lafite Rothschild – among the drinks on offer.

“Everybody who’s spent time around Rory [McIlroy] knows that he is a foodie and he loves great red wine,” Immelman explained. “All the other champions were waiting to see what he would roll out for us and we knew it would be super special.

“We see this every year, but I really do appreciate how everything, every dish, every wine that he chose has some sort of meaning and story behind that. It just adds a little extra layer to it and makes an incredible evening even more special.”

What have others served for the Champions Dinner?

Scottie Scheffler’s Champions Dinner the previous year included “Scottie-Style” cheeseburger sliders, and “Papa Scheff’s Meatball and Ravioli Bites”, with the latter a nod to how he picked up a hand injury that saw him miss the start of the 2025 season.

Jon Rahm offered a Spanish feast including ‘Mama Rahm’s classic lentil stew’ and ‘Basque ribeye’ when he served his 2024 menu, while Woods served up a starter of ‘The Augusta Roll’ ahead of steak and chicken fajitas when he last hosted the Champions Dinner in 2020.

“A Sunday roast [Danny Willett] and Texas BBQ [Jordan Spieth] among the other mains chosen for past menus, while Bubba Watson’s selection ahead of his 2013 title defence was previously likened to a McDonald’s Happy Meal by three-time winner Sir Nick Faldo.

“Oh, it was Bubba [Watson], wasn’t, when we had Chuck E Cheese,” Faldo said ahead of the 2024 edition of The Masters. “When we had a little hamburger and our little corn and our little ice cream … we had a milkshake as well. So yeah, that was a lot.”

Who pays for the Champions Dinner?

The average price of three of McIlroy’s four wine choices each average in excess of $1,000 (£760) a bottle, with the cost of hosting the meal – including all drinks – falling to the defending champion.

“He [McIlroy] is so happy to be there that he doesn’t give a damn what anybody says,” said Sky Sports’ Butch Harmon, Tiger Woods’ former coach and son of 1948 champion Claude Harmon.

“He’ll have his Green Jacket on. I’ve seen his menu – it looks pretty good to me. The wine he serves, which I’m sure he will try and impress people with a high-dollar wine, can get pretty pricey.

“We could ask anybody who’s never won The Masters, ‘would you like to win the Masters if it’s going to be a hell of a big bill for dinner?’ They would say, ‘please bring it on, give me the cheque!’.”

McIlroy had 16 unsuccessful attempts at winning The Masters before eventually securing the Green Jacket. Now, he can enjoy his role as host ahead of having a seat for life at the Champions Dinner.

“It’s going to be a really cool night,” McIlroy added. “I can’t wait. I hope everyone enjoys the dinner and enjoys everything that I’ve selected. Hopefully we won’t stay too long.

“I’ll be maybe not as fresh on Wednesday morning, but on Thursday I’ll be ready to go.”

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