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Rory McIlroy navigated the Masters Champions Dinner, a key event for first-time hosts. He found his future seating arrangement among golf legends at the table.
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The Masters Champions Dinner presents a nerve-wracking question to newcomers the year after they host. Rory McIlroy found his answer.Getty Images
The Masters Champions Dinner is a nerve-wracking experience for first-time hosts. You want to hit everything out of the park, from the appetizers to the dessert and the drinks. But one of the biggest Champions Dinner questions doesnât get answered until the year after you first sit at the head of the table.
The defending champion and dinner host always sits between Ben Crenshaw, the unofficial emcee, and chairman Fred Ridley, at the head. The next year, itâs up to newcomers to find their future spot. Over the years, different cliques have formed at the table. Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus, and Tom Watson sit to the left of the head. Zach Johnson and Jordan Spieth rub shoulders, along with Dustin Johnson and Bubba Watson. Adam Scott and Trevor Immelman sit at the far corner. And so it goes.
âItâs not assigned seating, but a lot people sit in the same chairs,â Scott said in 2023. âI like that, to be perfectly honest. I like the fact that you kind of feel like thatâs your spot.â
After Scottie Scheffler hosted the dinner in 2023, he had to pick a spot to sit that would become his.
âThereâs a little protocol,â Scheffler said at this yearâs Arnold Palmer Invitational about the seating arrangements at the fabled dinner. âIâm definitely not going to go sit in the area where Tiger and Jack sit. Like, thereâs kind of spots where you kind of feel youâll naturally flow into.â
Scheffler normally would cozy up next to his Dallas buddy Spieth, but he didnât want to give the 2015 champion an opportunity to prank him in front of everyone. âI definitely didnât ask Jordan to sit by him, because he would have done something to make sure that I didnât have a place to sit,â Scheffler said, laughing. He ended up asking Johnson and is now a part of that table cohort.
The Masters Champions Dinner is an annual event where past champions gather, and the defending champion hosts the dinner.
Rory McIlroy's future spot at the Masters Champions Dinner is next to Ben Crenshaw and Fred Ridley, the chairman.
Notable attendees include Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus, Tom Watson, Zach Johnson, Jordan Spieth, and Bubba Watson.
Seating at the Masters Champions Dinner reflects the relationships and hierarchies among past champions, making it a nerve-wracking experience for newcomers.

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At this past yearâs Champions Dinner, Rory McIlroy wowed with a menu that included wagyu steak, which players raved about, yellowfin tuna carpaccio and a brilliant selection of wines from Augusta Nationalâs famed cellar. As McIlroy sat between Crenshaw and Ridley, he surveyed the layout of the table and noticed something.
âItâs a big, long table. Like a U-shape,â McIlroy said on the New Heights podcast with Jason and Travis Kelce. âAnd at the bottom-left corner, youâve got Trevor Immelman and Adam Scott. And they just look like theyâre having the best time. They are just having the night of their lives. And I said to Adam and Trevor, If I donât win this year, just save me a seat down by you guys.â
Although McIlroyâs journey down to Scott and Immelmanâs corner will have to wait for at least another year, after he became just the fourth player in history to successfully defend his title at Augusta National.
That historic achievement now leaves McIlroy with a different Champions Dinner query: Whatâs on next yearâs menu?
âI think everyone enjoyed the dinner. I tried to do enough dishes that would please everyone. And Iâm a big wine guy. I collect wine and I have done that for the last 10 years, so the wine selection was something that was pretty important to me,â McIlroy said. âI went pretty fancy this year. Itâs always on the Tuesday night, so I was thinking that I could just do a Taco Tuesday or something. Weâll see.â
McIlroyâs 2026 Masters win was a different kind of victory than his cathartic 2025 triumph. In 2025, McIlroy crumpled to the ground overcome with relief that he had finally accomplished a lifelong dream. This time, McIlroy tapped in his winning putt and felt only joy.
âNothing will ever top the euphoria of it all last year,â McIlroy said. âBut this year was validation. Like, I proved last year that I could do it at this place and then I go back without my best stuff â I built a really big lead over two days. But to get it done in the manner in which I did â lost the lead on Sunday, came back and played really solid to get it done â just validaiton on my part that this is where I should be. This is the level that I should be operating at.â
McIlroy did that, and now, heâs got another dinner to plan before, maybe, taking his place next to Scott and Immelman.
The post âSave me a seatâ: At Masters Champions Dinner, Rory McIlroy found his future spot appeared first on Golf.