Inside the Masters Champions Dinner, the Most Exclusive Gathering in Golf

The first Masters Champions Dinner was in 1952 and as the tradition, and number of participants, have grown, so have the memories of a special evening, writes Bob Harig.

The 1957 Champions dinner (clockwise from bottom left): Craig Wood, Henry Pickard, Gene Sarazen, Horton Smith, Claude Harmon, Augusta National chairman Cliff Roberts, Ben Hogan, Jimmy Demaret, Sam Snead, Byron Nelson, Herman Keiser, Bobby Jones, and Jack Burke, Jr. | John G. Zimmerman/Sports Illustrated

AUGUSTA — Winning the Masters means never having to qualify for the event again, a lifetime pass that is a special kind of exemption that adds to the glory and prestige of victory.

It’s one of the many perks of claiming the year’s first major championship.

Another takes place on Tuesday night in the Augusta National clubhouse.

Known formerly as the Masters Club, it is more often referred to as the Champions Dinner, with only those who have won the tournament in attendance along with the club chairman, Fred Ridley.

As the winner of the 2025 Masters, Rory McIlroy hosts the occasion and selects the menu. And the longtime master of ceremonies, Ben Crenshaw, will preside over the evening.

“I’m very happy to welcome him in,” said Crenshaw, a two-time winner of the Masters. “I think I’m going to say something like this was the inevitable: Rory McIlroy wins the Masters. I think it’s especially important since he culminated the (career) Grand Slam with that.”

This will be the 42nd dinner for Crenshaw who won the 1984 Masters and hosted for the first time the following year.

The idea for the occasion came from Ben Hogan, who after winning his first Masters in 1951 suggested that the champion be in charge of the menu the following year at a dinner to only be attended by past winners of the event and the club chairman, which at the time was Clifford Roberts.

And so it was that the tradition began in 1952. “It’s amazing to look at photos of that dinner,” Crenshaw said. “Because there weren’t as many champions.” It was just the 15th playing of the tournament.

Hogan served as the unofficial master of ceremonies at the dinner for four years with Byron Nelson taking over those duties in 1956. Nelson, who won the Masters in 1937 and 1942, served in that roll for nearly 50 years, relinquishing it after the 2004 tournament.

“He called me on the phone one day and said he wasn’t able to come to the tournament that year,” Crenshaw, 74, recalled. “And he said “I want you take over and make some remarks at the first of the proceedings. You love this place and you know about the history.” It was like, wow. Reluctantly, I said I’d be honored to do it. It’s fun. I basically try to weave a little history into it. Salute the champion and just tell everybody how nice it is to see everyone. It’s a great gathering every year.”

There are not assigned seats at the dinner, but it’s generally understood where to go and that some of the older champions have places where they have sat for years.

“It's kind of funny, it's kind of like, sixth, seventh grade, where if the teacher they have assigned seats you get all bummed, and if they let you sit wherever you want you end up sitting in the same spot anyways,” said Jordan Spieth, who won the 2015 Masters. “It's kind of the same deal. Sit with Scottie [Scheffler], but then when Scottie wins, you know, he's done that twice in the last three or four or so. Sometimes we click and there's a certain section on the far side from where we sit where you don't sit because it's Jack [Nicklaus] and Tiger [Woods], that's where Arnie [Palmer] was.”

 The reigning Masters champion sits between Ridley and Crenshaw and is usually asked to speak.

The Champions Dinner, shown here in 1989, an annual tradition on Tuesday of Masters week. | Augusta National/Getty Images

“I think definitely the first time around when you're hosting the dinner, it's your first time in that room, you don't really know what to expect,” said Scheffler, who hosted the dinner in 2023 and 2025. “I had no idea what it's going to be like. So I was definitely nervous. I'm not really a super social guy to begin with.

“I got there early, checked everything out, kind of snuck Meredith [his wife] up there, let her see, because she kind of helped me plan out a lot of the food and all that stuff. Obviously I wanted her to see it, so I kind of snuck her up the back, showed her everything before it got started.

“I think it's really cool to be in that room. I think you would always dream of being there. It's always fun for me to get to see some of the champions that I don't get to see on a regular basis. So it's always really fun just kind of catching up with those guys, seeing what they're like, kind of seeing what makes them tick, little stuff like that is always really fun.”

There are expected to be 32 past champions at this year’s dinner, including McIlroy. Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson are not attending. The oldest past champion will be Gary Player, 90, who won the Masters in 1961, 1974 and 1978.

Tommy Aaron, 89, who won the Masters in 1973 and Charles Coody, 88, who won in 1971 are the next oldest.

“The thing that I love the most about it is just the tradition,” said 2008 Masters champion Trevor Immelman. “And the camaraderie around that group. The understanding that, no matter how long you’ve been here or when you won the tournament, how much it meant to win.

“That, to me, is the fun. You see the older guys, and how much they appreciate it. And how much they enjoy reminiscing about the times that they won or even their close calls.”

Immelman recalled that the 2016 dinner was especially memorable and poignant because Arnold Palmer spoke. It was the last time the four-time Masters champion attended the dinner. He passed away in September of that year.

“It was almost like he knew it could be the last time, and he got up and spoke, and it was incredible,” Immelman said. “He pretty much just spoke about how much the Masters meant to him. How much the pro game meant to him. And that we need to take care of it from here on out.

“So it was extremely moving. There’s lots of guys that were tearing up and feeling the intensity of that moment.”

Woods and Nicklaus at the 2002 Champions Dinner. | Augusta National/Getty Images

Immelman cited the 2020 dinner during the COVID Masters played in November as being special as well because Woods hosted following his 2019 victory. “He was very, very emotional,” Immelman said. “So many people doubted whether he would be able to do that, the relief of winning again, but also for him to understand how important that win was, and to have his son there and he spoke about his family.”

Also memorable? Hideki Matsuyama at the 2022 dinner after he won in 2021. The Japanese star does not conduct interviews in English. But he spoke that night in English, without notes.

“Hideki was fantastic,” said Adam Scott, who also noted that Dustin Johnson was surprisingly talkative in 2021.

“It was the most you've ever heard him speak. I think the emotion of it was really touching. For him, obviously, but for everyone else too. You don’t really get a lot out of DJ, so to see some emotion was really fantastic.”

As for his own experience hosting in 2014, Scott said: “I think I was really only struck by the occasion when I was asked to speak in front of the room after Ben Crenshaw opened, had some opening remarks. And [then-chairman] Billy Payne had some things to say. And then it was over to me.

“Standing up and looking down at a 32-or-so person table, and recognizing the faces of the greatest to have ever played, that was really a moment where I probably fumbled my way through that speech. Hard to know what to say, really, other than it's a great honor and privilege to be able to do it, and to be able to spend that evening with them all every year it's certainly a highlight of my year, every year.”

European winners Sandy Lyle, Bernhard Langer, Ian Woosnam, Jose Maria Olazabal, Seve Ballesteros and Nick Faldo post before the 1995 dinner. | Steve Munday/ALLSPORT/Getty Images

The dinner has also become known for what the reigning champion decides to serve. Although the attendees can order off the club menu, there is a special meal that is put together by the champion and it often garners a bit of attention.

Sandy Lyle (from Scotland) had haggis on the menu and Bernhard Langer (from Germany) had sausage and Tiger Woods ordered up cheeseburgers at one of the dinners he hosted.

McIlroy’s menu is elaborate and took him a while to run through recently when he unveiled during a conference call. It includes a main course of wagyu filet mignon or seared salmon with elaborate appetizers and a first course of yellow fin tuna.

In addition, he has ordered a high-end wine list that includes a 2015 Salon Brut Champagne, 2022 Domaine Leflaive Batard-Montrachet, 1990 Chateau Lafite Rothschild and a 1989 Chateau D'Yquem.

Since McIlroy is responsible for the dinner tab and wine choices for a group totaling more than 30 people, it is quite possible it will get pricey.

“There is no question it is going to set him back,” said Crenshaw, chuckling. “It’s going to hurt him.”

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