The countdown to the 2026 Masters has begun but not all are preparing for the tournament. Reigning champion, Rory McIlroy, for one, is more focused on how his first-ever Masters Champions Dinner goes. The Northern Irishman’s menu for the traditional Tuesday night has already gone into the books as the most expensive dinner, but it might have one glaring detail that is only bound to hurt McIlroy, as Ben Crenshaw explained Matt Adams in a one-on-one interview on his podcast Fairways of Life yesterday.

“It was Ben Hogan’s idea to start the Masters Club,” Ben Crenshaw told Adams. “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.”

The Masters Champions Dinner tradition began in 1952, 18 years after the inaugural Masters Tournament. Since then, every champion has tried their best to impress the men in the room wearing the coveted green jacket. McIlroy certainly has already raised some eyebrows.

While the entire menu seems fancy, his wine selections are particularly eye‑catching. The Northern Irishman has chosen some prestigious vintages such as 1990 Chteau Lafite Rothschild and 1989 Chteau d’Yquem. There’s also the 2015 Salon Brut champagne and the 2022 Domaine Leflaive Batard Montrachet. The wine alone is estimated to cost the five-time major champion over $50,000. But, of course, the main attraction is the food 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 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

Scottie Scheffler may won hearts of many, but his Champions Dinner remains the one to blow everyone’s minds, literally! However, not everyone chooses the spiciest menu to serve and some have been quite liked over the years. 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.

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. 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. The clock is ticking!