Rory McIlroy Masters dinner 2026: Menu, photos, invitation, recap from McIlroy’s Winners dinner

Tuesday at the Masters means everyone is talking about one of the best tournament traditions that they’re not invited to: the Champions Dinner.

Only Masters champions and the Chairman of Augusta National Golf Club (currently Fred Ridley) get to attend this exclusive dinner. The menu is announced weeks beforehand and scrutinized, ranked against past menus, and priced out (spoiler: it’s expensive).

This year, 2025 champion Rory McIlroy gets the honor of curating the lineup of dishes, selecting exclusive bottles of wine from Augusta National’s cellar and, of course, footing the bill – as is tradition.

McIlroy gave quite the zinger in his press conference on Tuesday when asked about the evening to come: “People keep asking me why didn’t you go more Irish? And I said, because I want to enjoy the dinner as well.”

While no one knows what is discussed at the Champions Dinner – oh, to be a fly on the wall – here are some things we do know about the most exclusive meal in golf.

What was Rory McIlroy’s Masters dinner menu?

McIlroy’s sophisticated menu pays tribute to his home country, Northern Ireland, and his family. It also features call-outs to Georgia and some of his favorite dishes from around the world.

“It was just from the heart and from personal experience, and I guess a little bit of nostalgia for me of what I wanted to serve,” McIlroy said.

The variety of dishes could be a picky eater’s nightmare. This lineup, juxtaposed with Bubba Watson’s 2013 menu (caesar salad, grilled chicken breast, confetti cake), is quite the culinary contrast.

When the menu was announced on March 18, McIlroy gave some insight into his choices:

Appetizers

The bacon-wrapped dates are inspired by McIlroy’s mom, Rosie, who made them a lot when he was little. The peach and ricotta flatbread is a vegetarian option – for Gary Player, McIlroy quipped at his presser – that pays tribute to Georgia. The grilled elk sliders are in honor of McIlroy’s protein of choice leading up to his win last year.

First Course

The yellowfin tuna carpaccio is a dish replicated from McIlroy’s favorite New York City restaurant, Le Bernardin. He said every time he goes to the restaurant, he has to have the carpaccio; “I can sort of change up everything else in my order, but that tuna carpaccio is the one that stays.” The chefs at Augusta National Golf Club visited the NYC restaurant and worked with the chefs there to make sure they got it right.

Main Course

Attendees get to choose between wagyu filet mignon or seared salmon (me, personally? wagyu all day). Traditional Irish Champ is the first side, something McIlroy says he used to eat “by the bowlful” as a kid.

Dessert

The sticky toffee pudding is what McIlroy referred to as a “crowd-pleaser.”

Wine

McIlroy is particularly passionate about wine, something he has started to collect over the past decade, so he was excited to work with the sommeliers at the club and choose the wine for the dinner. He went with a few selections that reportedly have four-figure price tags, including the first white win McIlroy “actually liked” (a 2022 Domaine Leflaive Batard Montrachet) and his drink of choice the night he won the Masters (1990 Chateau Lafite Rothschild). The dessert wine, a 1989 Chateau D’Yquem, is from McIlroy’s birth year and is “like liquid gold.”

Masters dinner photo 2026

One of many traditions at the Champions Dinner is the official portrait, featuring all in attendance. There are 35 living Masters champions, with 33 featured in the below photo.

Masters dinner 2026 attendees list

The only living Masters champions not in attendance at this year’s dinner are Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson.

Woods announced last week that he is stepping away from professional golf indefinitely to seek treatment and focus on his health following a rollover car accident and subsequent DUI arrest in March. Mickelson also announced last week that he will not play Augusta this year and will be out for an extended period of time as his family navigates a “personal health matter.”

Here’s the list of attendees at the 2026 Masters Champions Dinner:

• Tommy Aaron
• Craig Stadler
• Ben Crenshaw
• Fred Couples
• Charles Coody
• Raymond Floyd
• Nick Faldo
• Sergio Garcia
• Zach Johnson
• Dustin Johnson
• Bernhard Langer
• Sandy Lyle
• Hideki Matsuyama
• Larry Mize
• Mark O’Meara
• José María Olazábal
• Gary Player
• Nick Price
• Jon Rahm
• Patrick Reed
• Adam Scott
• Scottie Scheffler
• Charl Schwartzel
• Vijay Singh
• Jordan Spieth
• Trevor Immelman
• Bubba Watson
• Mike Weir
• Danny Willett
• Ian Woosnam
• Fuzzy Zoeller
• Tom Watson
• Jack Nicklaus

What day is the Masters dinner?

The Champions Dinner is always the Tuesday of Masters week. This year, that falls on Tuesday, April 7.

Are wives invited to the Masters dinner?

The Champions Dinner is a “stag dinner,” aka men only. It was established by Ben Hogan in 1952 and consists of a strict guest list: past winners and the current club chairman. That being said, the wives of the champions typically have their own separate dinner tradition on Tuesday night.

Who pays for the Masters dinner?

The reigning champion is responsible for choosing the menu and picking up the tab.

Average cost of the Masters dinner

The cost per plate ranges at each Champions Dinner. Obviously, the price of Watson’s 2013 menu vs. McIlroy’s 2026 menu should be very different just based on the complexity of dishes and quantity of options. Estimates range between $150-$350 per head. With approximately 30-35 guests in attendance, the bill could range from a few thousand dollars to $12,000 or more. Make sure you’ve got your wallet tucked away in that green jacket, Rory!