Former Masters Champions Weigh In on Rory McIlroy's ‘Priciest’ Champions Dinner Menu
There’s winning the Masters, and then there’s hosting the Champions Dinner.
For Rory McIlroy — now the sixth golfer in history to win all four major championships after capturing the green jacket at last year’s Masters Tournament — Tuesday night at Augusta National was about honoring both milestones in style.
And by all accounts, he nailed it.
The Champions Dinner is one of Augusta’s most cherished traditions. Each year, the reigning champion selects the menu, acts as host for all previous winners and picks up the tab.
It’s an intimate evening inside the most exclusive dining room in sports, and McIlroy clearly understood the weight of the occasion.
“I was trying to achieve something that I would enjoy — and 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,” the Northern Irish golfer said of the meal on Tuesday.
When asked why he didn’t lean into his heritage more with the menu, McIlroy had a cheeky response: “People keep asking me, ‘Why didn’t you go more Irish?’ And I said, ‘Because I want to enjoy the dinner as well.’”
Rory McIlroy’s Menu Was Fit for a Champion
McIlroy’s selections were far from ordinary. The appetizers alone — peach and ricotta flatbread, rock shrimp tempura, bacon-wrapped dates and grilled elk sliders — set the tone for an elevated evening.
The first course featured yellowfin tuna carpaccio with foie gras, toasted baguette and chives.
For the main course, guests chose between wagyu filet mignon or seared salmon, served with traditional Irish champ, sauteed brussels sprouts, glazed carrots with brown butter and crispy vidalia onion rings.
That Irish champ was a subtle nod to home, after all. Dessert? Sticky toffee pudding.
Three-time Masters winner Gary Player couldn’t resist the dessert. “I ate three-quarters of it,” Player said of the pudding, per the Golf Channel. “That’s my weakness is I like sugar, and I’ve got to try and stop.”
Mark O’Meara, who won the Masters in 1998 and was paired with McIlroy when he won his first pro title at the 2009 Dubai Desert Classic, described the dessert as “off the charts.”
Jordan Spieth, the 2015 champion, offered perhaps the highest praise. “The food was incredible. It’s one of the best dinners that we’ve had on the meal. His choices were fantastic. And there were some great stories told,” Spieth told Mirror.
Spieth was especially fond of one item in particular. “The steak was awesome. The Wagyu filet, I mean, it was very good.”
Ian Woosnam also had his eye on the main course: “The filet, it was a nice, little filet mignon. I haven’t had one like that. Usually, I have a bit bigger one.”
Rory McIlroy Goes All-Out With His Wine Selection
Where McIlroy truly set himself apart was with the wine.
His hand-picked selections included 2015 Salon S Brut Le Mesnil-sur-Oger, 2022 Domaine Leflaive Bâtard-Montrachet, 1990 Château Lafite Rothschild and 1989 Château d’Yquem.
Each choice carried personal meaning: the Domaine was the first white wine McIlroy ever liked, the 1990 Château was what he drank the night he won the Masters for the first time in 2025 and the 1989 Château is a nod to his birth year.
According to the Golf Channel, the wine bill alone cost more than $50,000. It is rumored to be the priciest Masters Champions Dinner ever.
Woosnam approved: “The wine was excellent. Had a lovely flavor to it, lovely body to it, complemented the food brilliantly.”
Masters chairman Fred Ridley summed it up perfectly: “I should say that, like his golf game, Rory’s menu and wine selection were world-class.”
Rory McIlroy Has His Eyes Set on Thursday
McIlroy treated the evening with the reverence it deserved — but made clear he wants another shot at hosting.
“I said it in the room last night, but all of us in that room were the envy of the sports world last night,” McIlroy said, per the Golf Channel.
“Everyone else would love to be in that room, and I certainly don’t ever want to take it for granted. I tried to treat it as if it was the only time I would host a dinner. Hopefully, it’s not,” he added.
The 2026 Masters Tournament tees off on Thursday, April 9 and concludes on Sunday, April 12. There are 91 players — including 18 past champions — in the field. Only one will win.
This article was created by content specialists using various tools, including AI.
