What a difference a year makes.
Last year at this time, Rory McIlroy was nervous and feeling a little bit left out. It was the night of the Champions Dinner when past Masters winners join together at Augusta National Golf Club to celebrate each year.
McIlroy, of course, was not invited. He’d played in the Masters 16 times, but the green jacket had always eluded him. It was the missing piece to his Grand Slam, his career and, well, he wished he was a part of the exclusive dinner.
“Myself and Justin Rose actually went for dinner at the club last year on the Tuesday night with a few of the Augusta National members,” McIlroy said on Tuesday. “I was pulling up Magnolia Lane ... The champions were having their cocktails out on the balcony. I’m like, ‘I don’t want to valet, get out, they’re going to see me and it’s going to be weird.’ Thankfully that was the last time that I needed to do that.”
McIlroy would have no more worries about Tuesday night dinner reservations at Augusta National or what to wear, he made sure of it when he won the 2025 Masters Tournament.
“I think it’s one of the best traditions in sport. And I’m very grateful to be a part of it. I’m obviously going to get my first experience of it tonight and looking forward to many, many more years,” McIlroy said.
The 36-year-old Northern Irishman designed this year’s Champions Dinner menu and wine list, as is the responsibility of the reigning champion. The menu includes odes to McIlroy’s Irish background, as well as family delicacies, but he’ll also be serving up nods to the Augusta area where he sealed last year’s victory.
“I would say I’m quite a procrastinator, so I probably put it off for as long as possible until I actually really had to think about it, which was probably at the back end of last year, starting to think about how to put it together. But it was a fun process to go through,” he said.
“People keep asking me, ‘Why didn’t you go more Irish?’ And I said, ‘Because I want to enjoy the dinner as well,’” McIlroy laughed. “I was trying to achieve something that I would enjoy but also something —- and 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 it was fun to put the meal together and soaked up the opportunity to sample the Augusta National wine cellar. He added that he tried to make sure there were a few dinner items that everyone would eat. “The club encouraged me to do one vegetarian dish in the appetizers, so that’s where the peach and ricotta flatbread came from,” McIlroy said. “I think that one was probably for Gary Player.”
In addition to the menu, McIlroy will give customary remarks at Tuesday night’s event, and he said he’s thought about those words much more than the food. “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,” McIlroy said.
The Masters Club dinner wraps up a busy few days of events for McIlroy, who attended the Augusta National Women’s Amateur on Saturday, the Drive, Chip and Putt National Finals on Sunday, in addition to a round of golf with his dad.
“It’s a dream come true. It’s incredible. I really tried to embrace and enjoy every part of it,” McIlroy said. “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.”
McIlroy tees off at 10:31 a.m. ET on Thursday, alongside Cameron Young and Mason Howell.
