AUGUSTA, Ga. — On Tuesday evening of Masters week a year ago, Rory McIlroy had a dinner date at Augusta National with Justin Rose and a few club members. As McIlroy eased his car down Magnolia Lane toward the clubhouse, he spotted a collection of green-jacketed past Masters winners enjoying cocktails on a second-floor balcony, which McIlroy instantly recognized as the warm-up act for the Champions Dinner. Awkward moment for a guy who’d famously been chasing his own green jacket for 16 years? Yes, quite awkward. “I’m like I don’t want to valet, get out, they’re going to see me and it’s going to be weird,” McIlroy said Tuesday.
McIlroy has avoided any such weirdness at this year’s Masters, because five days after his dinner with Rose, he, of course, won the Masters, earning him a lifetime invitation to the game’s most exclusive soiree. It’s not an honor McIlroy has taken lightly, as evidenced in part by the thought and care he put into his role as the 2026 dinner host. On his menu: bacon-wrapped dates that were a nod to one of his mother’s favorite dishes; yellowfin tuna carpaccio, inspired by the recipe from one of his favorite restaurants, Le Bernardin in New York City; wagyu steak that melts on your tongue; and a selection of wines that would excite even the most hardened connoisseur. “It ties back to experiences that I’ve had, but also wanted it to be something that all the other people in that room would enjoy as well,” McIlroy said.
Mission accomplished. On Wednesday morning, three-time Masters champion Nick Faldo was raving about the rock shrimp tempura and “lovely” chardonnay, a 2022 Domaine Laflaive Batard-Montrachet Berhard; two-time winner Bernhard Langer was singing the praises of the “terrific” carpaccio (“I’ve never had a bad meal here,” he told GOLF.com); and Jordan Spieth, the 2015 champion, was still licking his chops as he described the beef. “Tender and flavorful,” Spieth told GOLF.com. “I love steaks, and wagyu is the king of steaks.”
Scottie Scheffler, the 2022 and ’24 winner, vouched for the dessert — sticky toffee pudding — but said he couldn’t speak to the quality of the first course. “I was kind of bummed,” he said. “I was sitting in the locker room talking to Mr. Coody [Charles Coody], and I didn’t get a chance to go outside and have any of the appetizers.”
The food at the dinner is, of course, second to the company and that also did not disappoint, even if there were a couple of notable absentees in Tiger Woods, who reportedly is in addiction treatment following his March 27 DUI arrest, and Phil Mickelson, who is tending to a personal family matter. Thirty-two past winners attended along with club chairman Fred Ridley. Jack Nicklaus, owner of six green jackets, regaled the table with stories from Masters past. So, too, did three-time winner Gary Player. At one point, Nicklaus, Player and McIlroy — the three career Grand Slam winners at the dinner — were ushered off to pose for a photograph together. A “really cool moment,” Faldo said in an Instagram post.
Ben Crenshaw, the dinner’s resident emcee, is a walking, talking Augusta National history book, and on Tuesday evening, he brought some history with him to the dinner in the form of one of Ben Hogan’s steel-shafted drivers. “I’d see one before, and some guys said they’d hit it,” Faldo said.
Adam Scott, the 2013 winner, also said a few words, unexpectedly. “I didn’t really have anything prepared,” he said. “So I don’t know if there was a theme at all. But I just spoke about the first time I played with Rory, flashed through his journey and just felt like I think all the champions were watching him trying to win last year, hearts up in their throat living every bit of it with him because they’ve all gone through something like that.”
It is customary for the dinner host to address the room, and on Tuesday afternoon McIlroy said he’d given “a lot” of thought to what he wanted to say to his fellow champions. ”Honestly, I’ve probably thought about that more than the food. So many legends of the game there. Obviously there’s two [Woods and Mickelson] that won’t be with us this year, which is a shame, but hopefully they will be with us in the future, and I’m sure they will be with us in the future. But talking in front of that group, I want to say the right things and make sure I get my feelings across of how grateful I am to be a part of that group.”
By all accounts, that message was delivered. Spieth said McIlroy expressed how his win, and joining the club of past champions, was a dream come true. “He spoke to always wanting to be in that room and being the envy of the sports world that night, and just how much he enjoyed being a champion over the last year,” Spieth told GOLF.com. “Pretty much what we could see it mean to him, he was explaining to us.”
Langer described McIlroy’s remarks as “very mature and obviously a little emotional. It took him a while to get here, and most people thought he’d be here sooner. But you never know in golf — you’ve got to be hot at the right time. But he finally did it. It was great to have him in the room, and he’s excited to be part of this club for the rest of his life.”
After such a long wait for his green coat, McIlroy has tried to soak up all the benefits and experiences that have come with his victory. But with dinner-hosting duties behind him, he’s now focused on the next mission: earning the privilege to host the dinner again a year from now.
“I really tried to embrace and enjoy every part of it,” McIlroy said Tuesday. “I’ve got one more thing to try to embrace and enjoy tonight at the Champions Dinner, then I’ll be able to turn my full attention to getting ready for the golf tournament.”
