Rory McIlroy is one of the worlds outstanding golfers, both on the PGA Tour and the DP World Tour. But with appearances on all Majors, Tour finals and every other big tournament there is in golf, one special occasion is still missing in McIlroys yearly schedule, the Masters Champions Dinner.
Rory McIlroy and The Masters Champions Dinner at Augusta National
So why is Rory McIlroy not invited to the famous Masters Dinner? As the official name of the – probably most famous – dinner in golf suggests, the “Masters Champions Dinner” is just for the elite circle of past and reigning Masters Champions. The tradition was originally startet by Ben Hogan back in the 1950s and is continued as a popular tradition, not just for the attendees, but for golf fans as well. The Masters Champions Dinner Menu is a talking point for many and is chosen by the reigning Masters Champion from the previous year.
So Scottie Scheffler, Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus and this years host Jon Rahm are going to be present, but Rory McIlroy didn’t get an invite. Because as simple as it is, he hasn’t won a Masters Tournament yet.
Rory McIlroy at The Masters Tournament
So for McIlroy the Masters-Odyssey doesn’t stop at a missing invite to this dinner. The Northern Irishman is negatively famous for being “cursed” at the first Major of each golf season. With wins at the PGA Championship, the US Open and the Open Championship the only Major missing for his Grand Slam is the Masters Tournament.
In 2022 the Northern Irishman came close to a victory with a second place but fumbled in his last round and Scottie Scheffler claimed his first Major title in response. In 2023 McIlroy even missed the cut. So starting this years Major season he changed his routines by missing the famous Par 3 Contest on Wednesday.