Fellow countryman and also fellow Masters champion Sergio Garcis says he’s excited to be sitting down on Tuesday night to the Jon Rahm hosted Champions Dinner at Augusta National.

Rahm will be the fourth Spanish-born golfer to host the dinner that was first introduced by Ben Hogan in 1952 as a way of recognising those who have won The Masters.

As well, it will be the sixth dinner since 1984 being hosted by a Spanish winner since Seve Ballesteros became the first 40-year ago this year.

Garcia had been photographed in 1999 alongside Jose Maria Olazabal in a never before all-Spanish Masters winning low amateur and low professional double.

Image – Augusta National

Eighteen years later Olazabal was there on the 18^th green to congratulate Garcia in becoming a fellow Masters winner while 12-months it was Garcia’s turn being present on the sidelines when Rahm was fitted with a Masters member green jacket.

And Garcia eagerly looks forward to welcoming Rahm into the Champions dining room on Tuesday night.

“I’m very excited about that. It looks amazing, a lot of Spanish food, so for me it’s great,” said Garcia from Miami where he shared the lead after the opening round of the LIV Miami at Trump National Doral.

“It’s the kind of food — I love all kinds of food, but obviously that’s even more special for me.

“I know how special that night was as a past champion. I was fortunate to live it once, so I know that for him it’s going to be the same thing, and it should be great fun”.

Masters champion Jon Rahm’s Champions Dinner Menu

In his letter to the Masters, Hogan said, “It’s my wish to invite all the Masters champions who are going to be here, plus Bob Jones and Cliff Roberts. The latter has agreed to make available his room for the dinner party and I hope you can be on hand promptly at 7:15 p.m. My only stipulation is that you wear your green coat.”

There is a politely located sign at the front of the dining room saying ‘Champions Only’ and with former living Masters champions and the current Chairman of Augusta National Golf Club only allowed to enter.

There are a few ‘selected’ accredited photographers permitted to take photographs of those attending before the doors are closed.

Everyone who attends wears their traditional members green jacket, shirt tie and slacks.

Understandably, with 11 different countries having had a player win in the 87-years the Masters has been staged it’s meant for a variety of menus thru the years.

In 1989, Scot Sandy Lyle and wearing a kilt served Haggis with mashed potatoes and turnip for his main course, double Masters winner Bernhard Langer selected Wiener Schnitzel in 1994 while in 2018 Sergio Garcia opted for arroz caldoso de bogavante, a lobster rice dish from his native Spain.

Jose Maria Olazabal and Phil Mickelson both chose a menu with paella for the dinner. Two-time Masters champion Bubba Watson went with an identical menu in both 2013 and 2015, choosing … wait for it …. a Caesar salad to start, grilled chicken with green beans, mashed potatoes, corn, macaroni and cheese, served with cornbread. Confetti cake and vanilla ice cream for dessert.

Speaking of Mickelson, in 2011 he honoured fellow Masters champion Seve Ballesteros, who was absent due to his cancer battle, with a Spanish theme menu that included Spanish paella along with machango-topped filet mignon, a salad and apple empanada ice cream for dessert.  Sadly, the golf world lost Seve less than a month later.

What is not well known is that the defending Masters champion has to pay for the dinner and, as well, if there is a former champion who doesn’t feel up to the chosen menu, they could also order anything from the Club dinner menu as an option.

Last year there were 34 former Masters champions in attendance including the oldest Masters winner in 1937 champion Tommy Aaron, who turned 87 in February.  (It was Aaron who put down a par 4 at the 71^st hole in marking the 1968 Masters card of Roberto Di Vicenzo who then lost in a play-off to American Bob Goalby).

Spanish-born Champions Dinner menus include:

2024 Champions Dinner – Jon Rahm

Starters: Tapas (small plates) including Ibérico ham, spicy Basque chorizo sausage with potatoes, Idiázabal cheese with black truffle, Jon Rahm’s mum’s classic lentil stew, Spanish omelette with onions and confit potatoes, creamy chicken fritters with confit potatoes

First course: Basque crab salad with potato

Main course: Basque ribeye steak with lettuce and peppers or turbot (fish) with white asparagus

Desert: Puff pastry cake with custard and Chantilly cream

2018 Champions Dinner – Sergio Garcia

International Salad – Inspired by ingredients from countries of the Masters Champions

Arroz Caldoso de Bogavante – Traditional Spanish lobster soup rice

Angela Garcia’s Tres Leches Cake – Tres Leches Ice Cream & Espuma

2020 Champions Dinner – Jose Maria Olazabal

Beef filet with red wine sauce, romaine lettuce with olive oil and vinegar, papitas fritas, shallots.

1995 Champions Dinner – Jose Maria Olazabal

José brought the flavors of home, Basque Country, Spain, with hake, an assortment of tapas and paella (a Spanish rice dish).

More Champions Dinner Facts

• The youngest player to have selected a menu for the Champions Dinner was Tiger Woods after winning his first Green Jacket in 1997 at the age of 21.
• The oldest player is Jack Nicklaus, who won in 1986 at the age of 46.
• Dustin Johnson had less than five months to plan his Champions Dinner menu after winning the Masters in November of 2020. The event was postponed to November because of the COVID-19 pandemic and the 2021 event took place in its traditional month of April.
• Byron Nelson was reportedly thrilled with Tiger Woods’ selection of burgers and fries in 1998 because he wasn’t allowed to eat that at home.hes cake.