Masters diary: The First Supper
Masters champions and Chairman of Augusta National Golf Club and the Masters Tournament Fred S. Ridley at the 2026 Masters Club Dinner prior to the start of the 2026 Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club, Tuesday, April 07, 2026.
Rory McIlroy's first Masters win will go down as one of the most memorable in the history of the tournament.
His first Masters Club Dinner was also remarkable.
According to the Augusta Chronicle, Ben Crenshaw broke with tradition.
"Crenshaw did something he had never done before," 89-year-old Tommy Aaron said. "He asked Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player to give remarks about Rory.
Before the dinner started, Crenshaw stood and said eight words, the Chronicle reported.
"The inevitable happened," the two-time champion said. "Rory McIlroy won the Masters."
Looking at McIlroy, he added: "You took us on a toboggan ride."
He described McIlroy's incredible seven-iron on the 15th, when the title was slipping away after he'd just lost the lead, as courageous,
"No. 15 may be one of the best shots that have ever been hit over here," he said before turning to Grand Slam winners Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player.
The Golden Bear recalled how he first ran into a curly-haired, teenage McIlroy in the car park at a mall in Florida and how they would talk after his multiple disappointments at Augusta National over the years.
Player talked about McIlroy joining them in the Grand Slam club.
"Jack had the whole table laughing," Tommy Aaron said. "Just a fantastic speech about the ups and downs that Rory has experienced, and how he kept asking Rory after different situations, 'Did you learn anything from this?' Rory would keep telling Jack, 'I think I did.'"
With Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson absent, just 33 of the 35 living Masters champions were there.
"Rory said all the right things," Charles Coody told the Chronicle. "He didn't get emotional, but he gave a great welcome speech about how much he appreciates being here."
When asked what Rory said about Tiger, Aaron said, "Rory kept it brief. He said that we miss Tiger and that he has to do whatever he has to do to take care of himself."
As for the food, there were many takers for the wagyu beef, including Sandy Lyle, who has a wagyu farm in Scotland.
"Everyone around me got the filet, but I've been eating so much beef lately that I guilted myself into the salmon," Aaron said. "But it was fantastic. The entire spread was as good as any dinner we've had."
No stone unturned for Rory
Rory McIlroy is not known for being superstitious, but he's made an exception this week,
While he's not even staying in the same house where he stayed last year, he's decided to keep the green New Zealand Pounamu stone necklace that brought him luck last year.
According to Golf Channel's Eamon Lynch, the necklace was presented to him by Sir John Key, a member of Augusta National and a former Prime Minister of New Zealand.
McIlroy, who wore it for his trips down Magnolia Lane every day last year, said, 'I'm keeping it in the bag for this year.'
40 years out of hibernation
It's been 40 years since Jack Nicklaus surprised everyone and emerged from the pack to win the 1986 Masters and his 18th Major by shooting 30 on the back nine in a closing 65 to win by a shot from Greg Norman and Tom Kite.
His birdie putt at the 16th remains one of the most iconic TV moments in the history of the sport, courtesy of Jim Nantz, who said, "The bear has come out of hibernation," as Nicklaus rolled in a tricky three-footer for birdie after almost holing his tee shot.
"[I] tried to sound mature beyond my years and wondered where in the world did that thought come into my head?" Nantz recalled recently.
"It was original and somehow it dropped out of the sky and into my head and I uttered it. And I was thankful that after the show (producer) Frank Chirkinian gave me a big hug and told me that I would be back the following year."
A transcript of Nicklaus' winner's press conference was included in the Masters media resources this week and he was fascinating on that moment and his play over the last few holes.
"As I walked off 15, I noticed there was only one person in front of me, Seve," he said of the great Spaniard, who famously dumped his approach to the 15th into the water to kiss the title goodbye.
" I said, well, he's got some golf to play yet. We're going to go play. Then I stood on 16, and usually at 16 I play a 6-iron.
"It was 179 yards and there was a touch of wind in our face, and I said, Jackie, I think that's a good solid 5-iron. Let's put it up in the air, which is what I did, and the ball carried right behind the pin and the gallery started -- noise started building up, and I said, 'Oops, that's going to be very close.'
"And I couldn't see it but I guess it missed the hole by about a half an inch or so.
"Then, as I stood on 17 tee, I was getting up over the ball, and I backed off, and there was a large roar, and I didn't know what kind of roar it was.
'It didn't sound like somebody had holed something, but obviously what had happened was Ballesteros had hit his ball in the water on 15, and it was a funny sound because it wasn't a sound of cheer, but it was a sound of a cheer, you know, and it was just a loud, something happened. You couldn't tell whether it was good or bad."
The Daly Show
John Daly will be in Augusta this year - not at Hooters but the local Topgolf facility.
Daly was a familiar face at Hooters on Washington Road every year, where he would hold court in his RV in the car park, sell merchandise and pose for pictures with fans.
Hooters was demolished last summer and Daly has now been welcomed by the Top Dawg Tavern, which is situated across the street.
But he'll also be making appearances on Thursday and Friday at Topgolf, which opened an Augusta branch in 2020.
Ladies Night at Augusta
Tuesday night's Masters Club dinner grabs all the attention as the reigning champion hosts the other former winners in the clubhouse.
But there's another gathering in the clubhouse — the First Ladies of the Masters Club — that's also become a tradition.
"We get the best of both worlds," 2011 winner Charl Schwartzel said. "We get to eat with the boys and then join the wives afterwards."
While he's unable to host this year due to ill health, political fundraiser Bradford Freeman — a major fundraiser for George W Bush's 2000 US Presidential campaign — is the Augusta member who is the key to it all.
"(The wives) have taken it to another gear," said Ben Crenshaw, whose wife, Julie, helps organise the get-together.
Masters by the numbers
775 - The number of private jets landing at Augusta Regional Airport during Masters week.
According to NetJets, the numbers are set to rise further in 2027, prompting the company to build its own terminal in town.
"Guests arriving this April for golf's most iconic championship will witness the construction in progress, including the finished ramp and foundational walls of what will soon become a full-service terminal," NetJets said in a statement.
The new terminal will include a lounge, private meeting spaces, and "advanced customer services tailored to NetJets customers," according to the company.
With Masters champions Scottie Scheffler and Dustin Johnson on the payroll as brand ambassadors alongside a host of PGA Tour stars, there is no shortage of NetJets social events during Masters week for the corporate set.
30 - Thirty of the last 31 Masters winners played Amen Corner in level par or better over the four rounds. Sergio Garcia (1 over) was the exception in 2017.
25 - Each of the last 14 Masters champions entered the tournament ranked inside the top 25 in the world
Bubba Watson (2012, 16th), Adam Scott (2013, 7th), Bubba Watson (2014, 12th), Jordan Spieth (2015, 4th), Danny Willett (2016, 12th), Sergio Garcia (2017, No. 11), Patrick Reed (2018, 24th), Tiger Woods (2019, 12th), Dustin Johnson (2020, 1st), Hideki Matsuyama (2021, 25th), Scottie Scheffler (2022, 1st), Jon Rahm (2023, 3rd), Scheffler (2024, 1st) and Rory McIlroy (2025, 2nd).
Charl Schwartzel, who was ranked 29th in 2011, was the last player ranked outside the top 25 to win.
Ireland's three hopefuls this year are McIlroy (2nd), Shane Lowry (32nd) and Tom McKibbin (105th).
22 - The number of first-time Masters participants this week.
Not counting the inaugural Masters in 1934, the record for the most first-time Masters participants was set in 2020, when 26 players made their debuts.
Tom McKibbin is the latest Irishman to join the club. Still, the list of first-timers this year also includes Michael Brennan, Jacob Bridgeman, Ryan Gerard, Chris Gotterup, Ben Griffin, Harry Hall, Casey Jarvis, Naoyuki Kataoka, John Keefer, Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen, Andrew Novak, Marco Penge, Kristoffer Reitan, Samuel Stevens and Sami Valimaki. There are also six amateurs in Ethan Fang, Jackson Herrington, Brandon Holtz, Mason Howell, Fifa Laopakdee and Mateo Pulcini.
20 - Each of the last 20 Masters was won by a player who shot par or better in the first round, including Rory McIlroy last year (72).
10 - Dating back to 2024, 10 of the last Major winners have been Americans, with McIlroy the exception at Augusta last year.
9 - Over the last 20 years, the Masters champion was, on average, competing in his ninth Masters. Watch out for Corey Conners, Si Woo Kim and Xander Schauffele, who are making their ninth appearances this year.
8 - There are eight LIV Golf members in the field this week. It might have been ten, but Brooks Koepka and Patrick Reed left the Saudi-funded league in the off-season. Instead, it will fall to Bryson DeChambeau, Sergio Garcia, Tyrrell Hatton, Dustin Johnson, Tom McKibbin, Jon Rahm, Charl Schwartzel and Cameron Smith to fly the flag. Rahm (2023), Garcia (2017), Johnson (2020) and Schwartzel (2011) already have green jackets.
4 - Rory McIlroy is looking to become the fourth player to win consecutive Masters Tournaments.
The only back-to-back winners are Jack Nicklaus in 1965 and 1966, Nick Faldo in 1989 and 1990, and Tiger Woods in 2001 and 2002.
3 - Since Tiger went back-to-back more than 20 years ago, only three players have finished in the top 5 in their title defence — Woods was tied third in 2006, Jordan Spieth tied second in 2016, and Scottie Scheffler was fourth last year.
2 - The number of greenside bunkers Rory McIlroy found all week last year. He got up and down on the 10th in the first round before failing to save par from the sand on the 72nd hole, letting Justin Rose into a play-off.
1 - Justin Rose is one of only two players with multiple Masters play-off losses. The other is Ben Hogan, who lost play-offs in 1942 and 1954.
Masters on TV
THU Sky Sports Main Event (14:00), Sky Sports Golf (14:00)
FRI Sky Sports Main Event (14:00), Sky Sports Golf (14:00)
SAT Sky Sports Golf (16:30), Sky Sports Main Event (19:45)
SUN Sky Sports Golf (16:30), Sky Sports Main Event (19:00)
