Rory McIlroy ended his major drought at The Masters last month and will return to Augusta National as the reigning champion next year – and he has already been thinking about his Champions Dinner
Rory McIlroy has interesting plans for his Masters Champions Dinner(Image: Richard Heathcote/Getty Images)
Rory McIlroy has teased fans with a possible menu theme for the Masters Champions Dinner after his triumphant win at Augusta National last month.
The Northern Irish golf star finally conquered his Masters demons, clinching his fifth major title—and first in nearly 11 years—after a nail-biting playoff against Justin Rose on April 13.
Bagging The Masters not only nets the winner the iconic Green Jacket and a cool $4.2 million prize purse but also grants a lifetime invitation to the exclusive Champions Dinner held during tournament week, where past champions don their jackets and savor a meal chosen by the current champ.
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Next year, it’s McIlroy’s turn to pick the feast, and he hinted at some wild ideas while chatting on the ‘Today’ show this Friday, suggesting a lean towards gamey meats that have been part of his recent diet.
“I’ve been into like wild game recently, so like venison, elk, stuff like that,” McIlroy mused. “I don’t know if that might be in it. That sort of fueled this run, so maybe something like that.”
After his victory, McIlroy had already indicated he wouldn’t be drawing much inspiration from Scottie Scheffler’s 2024 champion’s menu, which featured casual fare like cheeseburger sliders and Texas-style chili.
He said: “I told Scottie when I saw him in Butler Cabin, I said I am not serving burgers next year. I am not sure, I have a year to think about it. But hopefully I will come up with a unique menu and a menu that all the past champions will enjoy.”
Rory McIlroy has completed his lifelong dream of the career Grand Slam(Image: Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
In sharing details of his epic night of celebrations post-victory at Augusta, McIlroy confessed he woke up questioning the reality of his achievement.
He candidly shared with fans: “I probably haven’t worn [the Green Jacket] as much as I thought I would. That Sunday afternoon and everything that happened afterwards, I get back to my rental house, we have a few drinks, I get about four hours of sleep.
“I wake up the next morning and I’m like, ‘Did that happen?’ And then I see [the Green Jacket] sitting in the corner of the room and I’m like, ‘Yeah, it happened.’
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“I had never felt a release like [the winning moment]. I cried at my wedding and I cried at the birth of our daughter, but that was something that I didn’t realize I was holding onto for so long.”
“That release and that emotion, my head’s on the floor and I’m screaming at the top of my lungs at that point. There were points over the past 10 years where I thought ‘Is this ever going to happen for me again?’
“I knew that my window was closing a little bit, so that was a huge moment, and to be able to have my family there was incredible.”
