Everyone who will be playing at Augusta National for the Masters 2026 is preparing for the event. However, Rory McIlroy has something else he needs to prepare for: the Masters Champions Dinner. It is a Tuesday-night event ahead of the Masters to celebrate past champions of the major. But what begins as a celebration of champions carries an unwritten twist, one that Ben Crenshaw recently brought back into focus with a knowing smile.
“It was Ben Hogan’s idea to start the Masters Club. He said, I think it’d be a good way to start the tournament for the champions to get together for a dinner. And oh, by the way, the champion has to foot the bill. He has to pay for it. And I’ll tell you what, I have looked at the menu, and I don’t know a lot about wines, but a lot of my friends said, oh my gosh, this is going to hurt Rory in his wallet. He’s picked out some great wines, so we’ll have a great time with that,” Ben Crenshaw said in a video uploaded on X.
Ben Hogan’s clever idea for the Masters Champions Dinner: the reigning champ foots the bill! With Rory McIlroy picking out some top-shelf wines, it looks like he’s in for a treat – and a hefty tab. #Masters #Golf #BenHogan pic.twitter.com/BIrP40GV2K
— MattAdamsGC/FoL (@MattAdamsFoL) April 4, 2026
The Masters Champions Dinner tradition began in 1952, 18 years after the inaugural Masters Tournament. It was Ben Hogan’s idea to invite past champions to a private dinner. He proposed creating a “Masters Club” for them, with the condition that guests wear their green jackets. Since then, the reigning Masters champion has selected the menu and paid for the dinner. Over the years, it has become one of the most exclusive and talked‑about gatherings in golf.
Ben Crenshaw is a two‑time Masters winner. He won the major in 1984 and then in 1995. He has been a guardian of the tradition and has spoken at the dinner on several occasions. As a past champion, he is invited alongside many others, including Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player, Fred Couples, and Dustin Johnson.
Even Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson have the entry as past champions. However, neither will be playing at the Masters 2026 for personal reasons, so their presence at the Masters Champions Dinner is highly unlikely.
This year, it is Rory McIlroy’s turn to host the dinner and pay for the bills. And as Ben Crenshaw noted, he has selected some exceptional wines. While the entire menu seems fancy, his wine selections are particularly eye‑catching. The Northern Irishman has chosen some prestigious vintages such as 1990 Château Lafite Rothschild and 1989 Château d’Yquem.
Apart from those vintages, there’s also the 2015 Salon Brut champagne and the 2022 Domaine Leflaive Batard Montrachet. With such a collection, it is estimated that the wine alone could cost the 5x major champion over $50,000.
Besides this wine collection, there are also appetizers, a main course, sides, and dessert on the menu. The appetizers include bacon‑wrapped dates with goat cheese, grilled elk sliders, rock shrimp tempura, Georgia peach and ricotta flatbread with hot honey, and yellowfin tuna carpaccio.
The main course features wagyu filet mignon and seared salmon. There’s traditional Irish champ, glazed carrots with brown butter, sauteed Brussels sprouts, and crispy Vidalia onion rings for sides. And the dessert he chose is sticky toffee pudding with vanilla ice cream and warm toffee sauce.
Even Sportsbook Review says that McIlroy will have to pay a lot of money. One plate at the table costs $318, which makes McIlroy’s the most expensive Champions Dinner ever. But since he won last year and got $4.2 million, the cost doesn’t seem that much. Yet, according to the analysis, that price is 194% higher than Scottie Scheffler’s $108 menu in 2025, which was the cheapest in the past ten years, and 44% higher than Hideki Matsuyama’s 2022 dinner, which was the previous record holder.
Most liked Masters Champions Dinner menus
One of the most liked Masters Champions Dinners is Phil Mickelson’s 2005 feast. Lefty went with an Italian-themed menu. It included lobster ravioli in tomato‑cream sauce, Caesar salad, and garlic bread. The restaurant‑style menu earned praise for being rich and thoughtful.
Apart from him, Vijay Singh’s choice for the 2001 Masters Champions Dinner menu was also liked. His menu kicked off with seafood Tom Ka soup, which is a Thai-based coconut shrimp soup. At the time, some even said that it was among the most flavorful dishes ever to appear at the Champions Dinner.
Hideki Matsuyama’s Japanese-inspired theme from 2022 earned praise, too. After his 2021 Masters win, Matsuyama served sushi, sashimi, yakitori chicken skewers, miso‑glazed black cod, Miyazaki A5 Wagyu beef, and Japanese strawberry shortcake. The menu drew acclaim for its elegant, high‑quality ingredients. Past champions also praised Matsuyama for selecting a menu that represented his homeland.
While all these and many other menus have been exceptional, Rory McIlroy’s feast is about to join them.
