Masters – Champions Dinner Explained: Rory McIlroy’s Menu, Who Will Sit Where, Who’s Invited and Who Will Pay? | Golf News

Rory McIlroy previously called his career majors the “last piece of the puzzle,” but his victory means he will sit at the head of a special golf dinner table ahead of his Masters title defense.

The Masters Club, also known as the Champions Dinner, has been an annual tradition at Augusta National since 1952, when Ben Hogan invited all past Masters champions to a dinner before their title defense.

With the exception of tournament co-founders Bobby Jones and Clifford Roberts, who were included as honorary members in early tournaments, only past Green Jacket winners and current Masters presidents have been allowed to attend the event each year since then.

The Champions Dinner will be held on Tuesday of Masters Week, and will be McIlroy’s first appearance. He follows in the footsteps of McIlroy, who defeated Justin Rose in a playoff 12 months ago and was looking for a fifth major title.

In addition to being the only player allowed to take the green jacket out of the gates of Augusta National in the past year, McIlroy’s perks as the reigning champion include setting the menu and drink list served for past champions who can attend this year’s Champions Dinner.

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

“We’re here because of hard work and playing well.”

Who will attend the Champions Dinner?

Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson will be absent from this year’s tournament, with Woods “taking a break” from golf following a car accident last month and Mickelson absent due to “personal health issues” in his family.

“Unfortunately, there’s going to be some players that won’t be able to be in that room, and that’s unfortunate,” Muckleroy added. “I want them to be recognized as well. They are two of the greatest champions in Masters history.”

All living past Masters champions are welcome, even if they are no longer participating in the tournament itself, and traditional participants include multiple major winners Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player and Tom Watson.

“What I really feel number one is how much it means to them, the effort they’re making to come back, and number two, being able to see the kids come out of them again for those few hours,” former Masters champion Trevor Immelman said on the Sky Sports Golf podcast.

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“You can see how much they enjoy being there, how much they enjoy remembering the experience of winning the Masters. Sometimes they even talk about when they lost late or almost got away with it. There’s a lot of great stuff.

“When you see these legends of this game in their minds, you wind back the clock and feel like an 8-year-old on Christmas morning. That excitement, that sparkle in their eyes. At some point, I’ll lean back in my chair and think, ‘This is really special.’

Who sits where at the Champions Dinner?

Immelman added: “When you’re the defending champion, like Rory (McIlroy) was this year, he’s going to sit at the end of the table, next to the Chairman (Fred Ridley) and Ben Crenshaw.

“Ben’s been an MC for years. Since then, there’s no assigned seating, but everyone somehow knows their place. Since 2010, I’ve started to gravitate towards the opposite end of the table.”

“That night was just amazing from start to finish. It went by so quickly, and I always leave thinking, ‘Wow, I could have sat here for two more hours.’

“Enjoy all of these legends that I’ve admired my whole life and tried to emulate in some way my whole life. This is just the best.”

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

McIlroy unveiled his Champions Dinner menu last month, featuring dishes and wines from different regions and eras, each with a different meaning to him.

The bacon-wrapped date appetizer was inspired by a dish made by McIlroy’s mother Rosie, and the first course of yellowfin tuna carpaccio was chosen because it was served at a New York restaurant that McIlroy and his wife Erica frequent.

Sides to accompany mains like Wagyu filet mignon and seared salmon include the “traditional Irish Champ,” a dish McIlroy ate “bowlfuls” of as a child, including the wine he drank the night he won the Masters (a 1990 Château Lafite Rothschild).

“Anyone who has spent time around Rory (McIlroy) knows that he is a foodie and loves great red wine,” Immelman explained. “All the other champions were looking forward to seeing what he had in store for us and we knew it was going to be something very special.

“We watch this every year, and we really appreciate that everything he chooses, every dish, every wine, has some kind of meaning and story behind it. It just adds a little extra layer to it and makes a great night even more special.”

What did others serve at the Champions Dinner?

Last year’s Scottie Scheffler’s Dinner of Champions included “Scottie Style” cheeseburger sliders and “Papa Chef’s Meatball and Ravioli Bites,” the latter of which recalled how he missed the start of the 2025 season with a hand injury.

When Jon Rahm presented his 2024 menu, he offered Spanish dishes such as Mama Rahm’s Traditional Lentil Stew and Bass Crib Eye, while Woods last hosted the Champions Dinner in 2020, when he served an Augusta roll starter before steak and chicken fajitas.

Past menus have included Sunday roast (Danny Willett) and Texas BBQ (Jordan Spieth) as main menu choices, but the menu chosen by Bubba Watson ahead of his 2013 title defense was previously likened to a McDonald’s Happy Meal by three-time champion Sir Nick Faldo.

“Yeah, it was Bubba (Watson) at Chuck E. Cheese,” Faldo said ahead of the 2024 edition of the Masters. “When I ate a little hamburger and a little corn and a little ice cream, I also drank a milkshake. Yeah, that was a lot.”

Who pays for the Champions Dinner?

The average price for three of McIlroy’s four wine choices is over $1,000 a bottle each, and the defending champion will be responsible for hosting the meal, which includes all drinks.

“He (McIlroy) doesn’t care what anyone says because he’s so happy to be there,” said Sky Sports’ Butch Harmon, Tiger Woods’ former coach and son of 1948 champion Claude Harmon.

“He’ll wear a green jacket. I looked at his menu and it looks very good. The wines he serves can be quite expensive, although I’m sure he’s trying to impress people with expensive wines.”

“You can ask anyone who has never won the Masters, ‘Would you want to win the Masters if the dinner bill was going to be ridiculously expensive?’ They’d say, ‘Bring it to me, give me the check.’ ”

McIlroy failed 16 times in his quest to win the Masters before finally winning the green jacket. Now he can enjoy his role as host before earning a lifetime seat at the Dinner of Champions.

“It’s going to be a really cool night,” McIlroy added. “I can’t wait. I hope you all enjoy dinner and enjoy everything I have chosen for you. I hope you don’t linger too long.”

“I might not be very strong Wednesday morning, but I’ll be ready by Thursday.”

Who will win the Masters? Watch the opening match of this year’s Major live exclusively on Sky Sports. Live coverage of the first round will begin on Sky Sports Golf from 2pm on Thursday. Get and stream Sky Sports without a contract.

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