Champions Dinner Menus: 40+ Years of What Masters Champs Served
But do the other guests have to eat what the defending champ puts on the menu? Which Champions Dinner menus have been best, worst, weirdest? We'll start with the history of the Champions Dinner and a few more interesting details about the event. After that, you can peruse the menus chosen by Masters champions going back decades.
- The very first Champions Dinner was held on April 4, 1952, at the suggestion of Ben Hogan. (Read Hogan's letter that started it all.)
- "Champions Dinner" is what it is popularly known as. "Masters Club Dinner" is what Augusta National Golf Club calls it, and what is printed on the dinner invitations and menu.
- The dinner is limited to past champions — no wives or anyone else — plus the Augusta National chairman. Both Bobby Jones and Clifford Roberts, the club's cofounders, attended the earliest dinners.
- The defending champion selects that year's menu, and also pays for the dinner.
- The dinner, with rare exceptions, is prepared by Augusta National's in-house chefs. Ben Crenshaw's barbecue menu in 1996 was cooked by his favorite Austin restaurant, FedEx'd to Augusta, and re-heated. In 2004, Vijay Singh was allowed to bring in chefs from Atlanta to prepare Thai specialties.
- At the dinner, the defending champion is presented with an inscribed gold locket, signifying his entry into the "Masters Club."
- Nobody at the dinner is required to eat anything on the defending champ's menu. Augusta National chefs typically prepare a few alternative meals, plus the club's regular menu is available.
- The Champions Dinner always takes place on the Tuesday of tournament week (two days prior to the first round of The Masters).
- Champions Dinner guests first gather for cocktails and appetizers in the Masters Club Room (a locker room/lounge for tournament winners) on the Augusta National clubhouse's second floor.
- At 7:30, they gather for the annual group photo.
- After the photo, the champs move to a room next door that is known as the Library. That is where dinner is served.
- The defending champion receives his locket and gives short remarks prior to the food's arrival.
- The evening ends around 10 p.m.
40+ Years of Champions Dinner Menus
More-detailed menus are available for recent years, when the champs' choices are usually announced on social media and the menu selections are turned into news stories. The farther back you go, the less information is available on the Champions Dinner menus, until, in the early 1980s, details disappear.2024, Jon Rahm — Spanish tapas (Iberian ham, Idiazabal cheese, Spanish omelette, spicy Basque chorizo, Mama Rahm's Classic Lentil Stew, chicken fritters); Basque crab salad, potato; Basque ribeye with tudela lettuce and piquillo peppers, or turbot (fish) with white asparagus; puff pastry cake, custard, chantilly cream
2023, Scottie Scheffler — Cheeseburger sliders, firecracker shrimp, tortilla soup; Texas ribeye steak, blackened redfish; chocolate chip skillet cookie
2022, Hideki Matsuyama — Sushi, sashimi, nigiri, Yakitori chicken skewers as appetizers; miso-glazed black cod; Miyazaki Wagyu beef ribeye with mixed mushrooms and vegetables; Japanese strawberry shortcake
2021, Dustin Johnson — Pigs in a blanket, lobster and corn fritters; filet mignon, miso-marinated sea bass with family-style mashed potatoes and spring vegetables; peach cobbler, apple pie with vanilla ice cream
2020, Tiger Woods — Shrimp tempura roll with spicy tuna, tempura flakes and eel sauce; prime steak, chicken fajitas; churros with chocolate sauce, flan, sopapillas
2019, Patrick Reed — Caesar salad, wedge salad; prime bone-in cowboy ribeye, mountain trout; macaroni and cheese, creamed spinach, corn creme brulee, steamed broccoli; tiramisu, vanilla bean creme brulee, chocolate crunch and praline cheesecake
2018, Sergio Garcia — International salad; arroz caldoso de bogavante (traditional Spanish lobster rice); tres leches cake with tres leches ice cream and espuma
2017, Danny Willett — Sunday roast of prime rib with roasted potatoes and vegetables plus Yorkshire pudding; apple crumble with vanilla custard, English cheese and biscuits
2016, Jordan Spieth — Local greens salad, corn muffins; Texas barbecue (beef brisket, smoked half chicken, pork ribs) with BBQ baked beans, bacon and chive potato salad, sauteed spring beans, grilled zucchini, roasted yellow squash; warm chocolate chip cookie, vanilla ice cream
2015, Bubba Watson — Traditional caesar salad; grilled chicken breast with green beans, mashed potatoes, corn, macaroni & cheese, cornbread; confetti cake, vanilla ice cream
2014, Adam Scott — Artichoke and arugula salad with grilled calimari; Australian Wagyu New York strip steak, Moreton Bay bugs (type of lobster), with sauteed spinach, onion cream mashed potatoes; strawberry and passion fruit Pavlova, Anzac biscuit, vanilla sundae
2013, Bubba Watson — (used same menu both years he was host) Traditional caesar salad; grilled chicken breast with green beans, mashed potatoes, corn, macaroni & cheese, cornbread; confetti cake, vanilla ice cream
2012, Charl Schwartzel — Iced seafood appetizers (shrimp, lobster, crab, oysters, king crab legs), international cheese and crudite, sliced biltong and biltong sticks (similar to jerky); South African BBQ (marinated and grilled filet mignon, lamb chops, chicken breast, boerewors (type of sausage) with monkey gland sauce, sides of dauphinoise potatoes, sauteed sweet corn, green beans; vanilla ice cream sundae, crispy meringues
2011, Phil Mickelson — Seafood paella and machango-topped filet mignon, with salad, asparagus, tortillas; apple empanada with cream-topping
2010, Angel Cabrera — Beef empanadas with scallions and onions; Argentine stew (with beef, chorizo, corn, beans, bacon) and Argentine asado (grilled meats: chorizo, blood sausage, sweetbreads, filet mignon, flank steak, short ribs)
2009, Trevor Immelman — Bobotie (a South African minced meat pie with egg topping) and sosaties (a South African chicken skewer) with spinach salad; milk tart
2008, Zach Johnson — Chilled jumbo shrimp, crab cakes, veal osso buco ravioli, lobster bisque, chopped salad; filet mignon and seared ahi tuna, with steamed asparagus, Lyonnaise potatoes, Iowa corn pudding, sweet potato casserole and steamed spinach; flourless chocolate cake with raspberry sauce
2007, Phil Mickelson — Steamed oysters, boiled shrimp, crab; Southern-fried chicken, barbecue-glazed baby back ribs, slow-cooked barbecue beef brisket, grilled hot smoked sausage; cole slaw, fried okra, potato salad, baked beans, green beans, creamed corn; vanilla ice cream with assorted mix-ins
2006, Tiger Woods — Salsa and ceviche, chili con queso and stuffed jalapeno, guacamole and quesadillas; steak fajitas and chicken fajitas with Mexican rice and beans; warm apple pie, ice cream
2005, Phil Mickelson — Caesar salad and garlic bread; lobster ravioli
2004, Mike Weir — Canadian wild game (including elk and boar) grill, plus fried chicken, Arctic char, filet mignon
2003, Tiger Woods — Sushi, sashimi, salad, crab cakes; porterhouse steak, grilled chicken breast, with asparagus, mashed red bliss potatoes; chocolate truffle cake with fresh berries
2002, Tiger Woods — Sushi, sashimi, salad; porterhouse steak, grilled chicken breast, with aparagus, mashed potatoes; chocolate cake, vanilla ice cream
2001, Vijay Singh — Chicken sate, kung-thod (stuffed fried shrimp), tamarind spring rolls; seafood tom kah (coconut soup), chicken panang curry, baked sea scallops, rack of lamb, baked filet Chilean sea bass; sauteed mixed fresh vegetables, steamed jasmine rice; lychee sorbet
2000, Jose Maria Olazabal — Romaine lettuce with olive oil and vinegar; beef filet with red wine sauce, shallotts, papitas fritas (thin-cut french fries)
1999, Mark O'Meara — Sushi, sashimi; chicken fajitas and steak fajitas
1998, Tiger Woods — Cheeseburgers and grilled chicken sandwiches with french fries; strawberry and vanilla milkshakes
1997, Nick Faldo — Tomato soup; fish and chips
1996, Ben Crenshaw — Beef brisket, St. Louis-style pork ribs, Hill Country sausage; peach cobbler
1995, Jose Maria Olazabal — Collard green soup, jumbo lump crabmeat cocktail; halibut in Spanish green sauce, roast rack of lamb, New York sirloin steak, with asparagus, roasted herb new potatoes
1994, Bernhard Langer — Wedding soup; turkey and dressing; Black Forest torte
1993, Fred Couples — Chicken cacciatore, spaghetti
1992, Ian Woosnam — Leek and potato soup; leg of Welsh lamb; apple pie, ice cream
1991, Nick Faldo — Steak and kidney pie
1990, Nick Faldo — Shepherd's pie
1989, Sandy Lyle — Jumbo lump crabmeat cocktail; haggis with neeps (mashed potatoes) and tatties (mashed turnips), plus broiled pompano
1988, Larry Mize — Steak, peach cobbler
1987, Jack Nicklaus — Gulf shrimp cocktail, Graber olives, corn sticks, cheese plate, tossed salad, dinner rolls; African lobster tail, New York prime sirloin steak, broiled or fried chicken, broiled or sauteed fresh fish; green beans amandine, buttered sliced carrots, baked potato; ice cream, Black Forest cake, cheesecake, pound cake, chocolate nut sundae, club baked apple pie
1986, Bernhard Langer — Wiener schnitzel (breaded veal cutlet) with spaetzle (type of egg noodle); Black Forest cake
1985, Ben Crenshaw — Green tossed salad; New York prime steak, lobster tail, chicken with baked potato, green beans amandine; white nectar peaches with ice cream and raspberry puree
The earliest Champions Dinner (and the only one prior to 1985) whose menu is publicly known is from 1971 Masters winner Charles Coody, who in 1972 offered a menu of New York strip steak with mushroom caps plus a cheese plate featuring brie with peach nectar.
One reason details mostly disappear prior to 1985 is that in the early years of the Champions Dinner, nobody made a big deal out of picking a menu.
"When I had my dinner," Doug Ford, the 1956 Masters winner, once told Sports Illustrated, "there wasn't all this bull. They just gave you a couple of entrees. I usually had spaghetti and meatballs."
The increase in international champions beginning in the 1980s played a role in bringing more attention to the Champions Dinner menus. Those champs wanted to display their national or regional cuisines. Bernhard Langer's decision to show off German cuisine with his choice of wiener schnitzel for the 1986 Champions Dinner is often pointed at for inspiring more customization from following dinner hosts.
Related articles:
- Tournament records for The Masters
- What does the winner of The Masters get?
- Back-to-back winners of The Masters
Augusta National Golf Club. Masters 2024 Media Guide.
Boyette, John. "Champions dinner began as simple gathering," Augusta Chronicle, Feb. 28, 2015, https://www.augusta.com/masters/story/history/champions-dinner-began-simple-gathering
Clarke, John. "What's for dinner? The Masters champion decides," New York Times, April 10, 2019, https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/10/sports/golf/champions-dinner-masters-patrick-reed.html
Myers, Alex. "13 curious Masters Champions Dinner choices," Golf Digest, April 7, 2020, https://www.golfdigest.com/gallery/champions-dinners-photos
Orlando Sentinel. "A decade of Masters meals," April 6, 1999, https://www.orlandosentinel.com/1999/04/06/a-decade-of-masters-meals/
Shipnuck, Alan. "The Supper Club," Sports Illustrated, April 5, 1999, https://vault.si.com/vault/1999/04/05/the-supper-club-the-most-exclusive-spot-in-the-game-a-place-at-the-table-for-the-masters-past-champions-dinner
