The Masters Champions Dinner is a nerve-wracking experience for first-time hosts. You want to hit everything out of the park, from the appetizers to the dessert and the drinks. But one of the biggest Champions Dinner questions doesn’t get answered until the year after you first sit at the head of the table.

Where do I sit?

The defending champion and dinner host always sits between Ben Crenshaw, the unofficial emcee, and chairman Fred Ridley, at the head. The next year, it’s up to newcomers to find their future spot. Over the years, different cliques have formed at the table. Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus, and Tom Watson sit to the left of the head. Zach Johnson and Jordan Spieth rub shoulders, along with Dustin Johnson and Bubba Watson. Adam Scott and Trevor Immelman sit at the far corner. And so it goes.

“It’s not assigned seating, but a lot people sit in the same chairs,” Scott said in 2023. “I like that, to be perfectly honest. I like the fact that you kind of feel like that’s your spot.”

After Scottie Scheffler hosted the dinner in 2023, he had to pick a spot to sit that would become his.

“There’s a little protocol,” Scheffler said at this year’s Arnold Palmer Invitational about the seating arrangements at the fabled dinner. “I’m definitely not going to go sit in the area where Tiger and Jack sit. Like, there’s kind of spots where you kind of feel you’ll naturally flow into.”

Scheffler normally would cozy up next to his Dallas buddy Spieth, but he didn’t want to give the 2015 champion an opportunity to prank him in front of everyone. “I definitely didn’t ask Jordan to sit by him, because he would have done something to make sure that I didn’t have a place to sit,” Scheffler said, laughing. He ended up asking Johnson and is now a part of that table cohort.

At this past year’s Champions Dinner, Rory McIlroy wowed with a menu that included wagyu steak, which players raved about, yellowfin tuna carpaccio and a brilliant selection of wines from Augusta National’s famed cellar. As McIlroy sat between Crenshaw and Ridley, he surveyed the layout of the table and noticed something.

“It’s a big, long table. Like a U-shape,” McIlroy said on the New Heights podcast with Jason and Travis Kelce. “And at the bottom-left corner, you’ve got Trevor Immelman and Adam Scott. And they just look like they’re having the best time. They are just having the night of their lives. And I said to Adam and Trevor, If I don’t win this year, just save me a seat down by you guys.”

Although McIlroy’s journey down to Scott and Immelman’s corner will have to wait for at least another year, after he became just the fourth player in history to successfully defend his title at Augusta National.

That historic achievement now leaves McIlroy with a different Champions Dinner query: What’s on next year’s menu?

“I think everyone enjoyed the dinner. I tried to do enough dishes that would please everyone. And I’m a big wine guy. I collect wine and I have done that for the last 10 years, so the wine selection was something that was pretty important to me,” McIlroy said. “I went pretty fancy this year. It’s always on the Tuesday night, so I was thinking that I could just do a Taco Tuesday or something. We’ll see.”

McIlroy’s 2026 Masters win was a different kind of victory than his cathartic 2025 triumph. In 2025, McIlroy crumpled to the ground overcome with relief that he had finally accomplished a lifelong dream. This time, McIlroy tapped in his winning putt and felt only joy.

“Nothing will ever top the euphoria of it all last year,” McIlroy said. “But this year was validation. Like, I proved last year that I could do it at this place and then I go back without my best stuff — I built a really big lead over two days. But to get it done in the manner in which I did — lost the lead on Sunday, came back and played really solid to get it done — just validaiton on my part that this is where I should be. This is the level that I should be operating at.”

McIlroy did that, and now, he’s got another dinner to plan before, maybe, taking his place next to Scott and Immelman.

Here are the other winners from the 2026 Masters. The Participation Jackets, if you will. Let’s get to ’em.

Honorable mention: All of us

After a week at Augusta with gloriously limited screen time I buzzed back through social media on post-Masters Monday to catch up on what I’d missed. This proved a spectacularly stupid way to process the golf tournament; somehow the conversation had shifted to burning topics like whether Rory McIlroy should be keeping score or what Florida’s governor thought of his scouting trips to Augusta.

Look, petty gripes are encouraged. I’m more than happy to hear nit-picking about golf course setup or TV production or bird selection on Jason Day’s vest or anything your heart desires — as long as we’re keeping in mind that, as far as golf tournaments go, this one was pretty damn good. So this is a reminder to myself, and I suppose to you, dear reader, that we’re all winners for how this all went down. Augusta National showed out, the weather cooperated and we got a legitimate back-and-forth, plot-twisting Masters Sunday between a handful of the very best golfers in the world.

10. Michael Brennan

Brennan announced his arrival in an improbable win at last year’s Bank of Utah Championship, where he got into the field via sponsor exemption and — in his first PGA Tour start as a pro — won the whole thing. It’s been uneven since then, but Brennan held his own in his first major as a pro; his T24 at Augusta National is his best finish anywhere in 2026.

8. Maverick McNealy

He’s not a flashy personality, doesn’t play a flashy game and doesn’t have a flashy resume in major championships. But Mav McNealy logged his first career top 20 thanks to a typically hot putter and a Sunday 67; it was a particularly impressive result given he shot 77 on Thursday.

9. Russell Henley

When Henley birdied four of the first eight holes on Sunday to get to 10 under par he suddenly had a legitimate chance to win his first major championship. Instead he couldn’t make a birdie putt and played the final 10 holes even par. The good news: that was his fifth top-10 finish in his last seven major starts and the first top-three of his career. Trending up at age 37.

“I hit it amazing today. I gave myself a bunch of looks. Unfortunately, I didn’t capitalize on those looks on the back like I would have liked to,” he said. “I felt like I handled the pressure well, handled the conditions well. It was tricky out there.”

7. Tyrrell Hatton

LIV Golf had a largely disappointing week; just one of its players finished under par or inside the top 30. But even though that golfer, Tyrrell Hatton, saw his chances to win all but vanish in a Saturday 72, his splendid Sunday 66 left him T3 and immensely satisfied with the way he finished. By finishing top 12 he also guarantees a return visit next year, which he said was on his mind with a baby on the way.

“To be honest most of the back nine I just wanted to make birdies because my wife is due in six weeks and I was thinking about it would be cool to come back next year, and our little girl will be pretty much 11 months, so it would be amazing to see her in a boiler suit,” Hatton said, referring to the caddie uniforms families wear at Wednesday’s Par-3 Contest. “Obviously you see all the other dads and their families and the little ones in boiler suits is so cute.”

6. Scottie Scheffler

There’s no chance the World No. 1 is interested in a Participation Jacket (the times more I type that phrase the more I’m planning to trademark it) but Scheffler entered the week as a new father, was coming off his “worst” two starts in over a year and sat 12 shots back at the halfway mark; if he was anybody else he’d be No. 1 on this list. (Instead we’ll slot him semi-randomly at No. 6.)

A bogey-free weekend left Scheffler solo second, just one shot off McIlroy’s winning number, and will more than silence the doubters. McIlroy won the tournament; Scheffler’s still the best golfer in the world. Between the two of them they’ve won four of the last five majors as well as four of the last five Masters, and McIlroy now has six majors to Scheffler’s four. Game on.

“I think the major championships bring out the best in me sometimes, and I had some good starts last year and I obviously had a good week this week,” Scheffler said. “There’s a few shots I’d like to have back, but overall put up a good fight.”

5. Jordan Spieth

Speaking of trending iron play: Jordan Spieth is flagging it right now. His T12 is his best result at a major in three years and came largely thanks to his approach game, which DataGolf had as fifth best in the field. Spieth remains remarkably dependable at Augusta National, where he has nine top-15 finishes in 13 career starts. He’s trending towards dependability everywhere else, too, if he can get his putter to cooperate.

“I hit it better [this year] than the year I won and I hit it way better than any of the second places or fourths,” he said. “Probably the best I ever hit it here and I typically putt these greens very well. That part is a bit frustrating. Again, putting can be streaky so just get on the right streak and go try to win next week.”

3. Cameron Young

If you take Young at his word, he left the Masters disappointed in the result but pleased with his play.

“There is no negative to take away other than obviously I would’ve loved a different result,” he said. “But in terms of the golf, I played plenty well enough to win today and plenty well enough to win by a couple I think. So, just one of those days. If you go through the back nine I pretty much had a birdie chance on every hole and didn’t make any. That’s how it goes sometimes.”

The tournament felt like Young’s to win when McIlroy, his playing partner, three-putted from five feet at No. 4 and gave Young a two-shot edge. But there was still so much golf to be played; Young went bogey-bogey-birdie-bogey at 6-7-8-9 and then strung out nine consecutive pars on the back as McIlroy slipped past him.

So why does he get a Participation Jacket? Because he just clutched up to win the Players, because he’s just gone T3-win-T3, because he’s No. 3 in the world — and because this time last year he missed the cut at the Masters and fell outside the top 60 in the OWGR. That’s a hell of a few weeks and a hell of a year.

2. Max Homa

Max Homa didn’t win the 2024 Masters but he did finish T3, which meant he got an automatic invite to the 2025 Masters, where he finished T12, which meant he got an automatic invite to the 2026 Masters, where he finished T9 thanks to a bogey-free Sunday 67 — and secured an invite to the 2027 Masters. Things could be looking up for Homa, whose iron play and putting have both been trending up since the start of the season. Now it’s just a matter of pretending that every other course is Augusta National…

“Yeah, it feels high,” Homa said of his result, with a smile. “I would like next time to be in contention earlier, not need a miracle on Sunday. “But for not having it all and feeling like I left some out there, I’m really proud of just the golf, [and] my brain was so good. Yeah, it was fun.”

1. Collin Morikawa

It takes a very specific set of circumstances to feel shocked by the No. 7-ranked golfer in the world finishing seventh place at a pro golf tournament, but given Collin Morikawa’s pre-tournament form (scratched on his second hole at the Players with a back injury, then sat out the next three weeks) plus his tournament-week form (was clearly in pain, wasn’t moving well, had to mess with his swing just to make it through a simple shot) this was probably the most impressive non-win of his impressing young career.

“Trust me, it’s going to be one of the best tournaments forever,” Morikawa said. “I’m going to remember this one for many reasons, but just more how strong the mind is, to be able to go out and convince yourself that everything is going to be okay.”

You can watch more analysis of the 2026 Masters at the video below.

Last year newly minted Masters champion Rory McIlroy strode into the press building, took his seat and spoke directly to the group of assembled writers.

“I’d like to start this press conference with a question myself,” he said. “What are we all going to talk about next year?”

Everybody laughed. The subtext was clear: For a decade-plus, the biggest Masters story was some version of can Rory get it done this year? He’d famously blown a 63-hole lead in 2011. He’d famously completed the other three quarters of the career Grand Slam. He’d famously spent a decade winning everything in the sport except a major championship. By last year the Rory Story was the only Masters story — or at least that’s how it felt given how much bigger and how much weightier it felt with him in the mix.

So whose story now needs a green-jacket ending? To McIlroy’s question: Who are we supposed to be talking about now?

There’s no logical successor to McIlroy, who teed it up at Augusta every year with a very specific pressure. He needed a Masters title to round out his resume — and was so good at golf that he and the rest of the golf world felt it would be a tragedy if he failed to do so. We knew the way we’d talk about McIlroy post-Masters would be radically different, if only he could just get across the line.

Everybody’s resume changes dramatically when they win a Masters, of course. But whose conversation changes the most? Using those two factors — gap in the resume plus the talent required to fill it — here are the five guys who need this Masters most.

Honorable mentions

Scottie Scheffler would catch McIlroy and Koepka at the five-major mark with a win but given the clip he’s been on — not to mention the recent birth of his second child — he does not “need” anything at the moment … Rory McIlroy will have plenty of attention on him but doesn’t “need” this one either, he deserves at least one Masters before we pile expectations on him again … Jon Rahm will be among the favorites but already has a Masters … our expectations for Brooks Koepka are currently in a safe, middling space … Chris Gotterup and Jacob Bridgeman lead the Masters first-timers, who should consider this year a free roll … Cameron Young gets a grace period post-Players, any strong form at Augusta would be a win … Collin Morikawa’s recent injury mean we’re pressing pause on the expectation game … Patrick Cantlay, Viktor Hovland, Tyrrell Hatton, Russell Henley and Robert MacIntyre are among the top active players yet to win a major, so this would be massive, there’s just no clear sign this will be the week.

Anyway, you get the idea. It would be big for anybody. It would be just a little bigger for the following:

5. Ludvig Aberg

Ludvig Aberg’s history at the Masters is short but sturdy. In 2024, his debut showing, he finished runner-up to Scheffler. In 2025 he actually had an even better chance to win; had he played his final three holes in one under he would have made it into a playoff, instead he finished bogey-triple and wound up seventh.

Does Aberg need a Masters? No. He’s still among the youngest top players on the PGA Tour and he remains ascendant. But also, of course he needs one! He’s been knocking on the door in big-time tournaments, letting the Players Championship slip away last month (and the Texas Open on Sunday). He’s still young but he’s not getting younger. At Aberg’s age (26-and-a-half) Jordan Spieth had three majors, Rory McIlroy had four, Tiger Woods had six. In fairness Brooks Koepka had zero, Phil Mickelson had zero and Scottie Scheffler had just snagged his first. So there’s plenty of time. But he comes in on form, which makes this a hell of a chance.

4. Xander Schauffele

There’s extra credit here for guys who have come close before, and on Masters Sunday in 2021 Xander Schauffele stood on Augusta National’s 16th tee at 10 under par — the eventual winning score — and made triple bogey.

No need to fixate on the negative, though. Schauffele’s on this list because he’s been the most consistent major championship performer of the last four years; since his last major missed cut at the 2022 Masters he’s played 15 majors and has won more times (twice) than he has finished outside the top 12 (once, a T28 at last year’s PGA). He also enters off third at the Players and T4 at the Valspar, suggesting his game is rounding into form at the right time.

A Masters win would do something else interesting, too: it would give him a third leg of the career Grand Slam, setting up a U.S. Open at Shinnecock in which both Scheffler and Schauffele would be one win away from joining McIlroy in history.

Still, let’s see Schauffele pick off this one before we start giving him a U.S. Open, too.

3. Bryson DeChambeau

This is as much an upside play as anything; DeChambeau’s career would suddenly enter radically different territory if he added a green jacket to his two U.S. Open trophies. Going from two majors to three suddenly rarefies the air you occupy.

He should have an excellent shot at contending this year, too. He enters in strong form off two consecutive LIV wins, he’s finished T6 and T5 in his last two Masters starts and seems to finally have found some answers to a place that vexed him his first six tries as a pro. There’s also the matter of some unfinished business after he played alongside McIlroy on Sunday last year and faded with 75.

DeChambeau’s resume is excellent. But to keep climbing the ranks of this generation’s best — and to continue bolstering his reputation as someone who can do it anywhere — he’d benefit greatly from a green jacket. (His YouTube channel would, too.)

2. Tommy Fleetwood

The best active player without a major is playing the best golf of his life. Last fall he won the Tour Championship, he won in India, he won at Bethpage. He’s logged four top 10s in five PGA Tour starts in 2026. He also has seven career top-fives in majors, most recently a T3 at the 2024 Masters.

East Lake was massive for Fleetwood. This represents the next step.

1. Justin Rose

Even McIlroy felt for Rose last year even as he vanquished him with a birdie on the first playoff hole.

And while there was no sense that Rose “lost” the tournament — McIlroy was 14 under par for the tournament through 10 holes on Sunday, while Rose was 7 under, his charge was a wild and dramatic bonus — there is a more general sense that he should be part of this club. Rose is a major champ and an Olympic gold medalist. He’s also the only man to lose in two playoffs at Augusta National. It would be poetic if this year was his turn.

Does Rose “need” a Masters title? Not really. That’s the point of this piece, of McIlroy’s quip, of the current pro landscape entering this year’s first major. Nobody needs this one like he needed that one.

But a whole bunch of guys sure want it anyway.

Rory McIlroy’s weekend at the Arnold Palmer Invitational never got started as he withdrew Saturday afternoon before his tee time with a back injury.

It’s just the second WD of McIlroy’s PGA Tour career. The first came at the 2013 Honda Classic when he was 7 over and cited a toothache.

According to Golf Channel’s Todd Lewis, the World No. 2 tweaked a muscle in his back during a pre-round gym session. After tweaking his back, McIlroy went to the range to hit some balls and see if he could work through it. He ultimately decided not to play. McIlroy told Lewis he might have been able to gut it out, but didn’t want to push it with the major season on the horizon.

McIlroy released the following statement shortly after his WD.

“While warming up in the gym this morning, I felt a small twinge in my back. As I started hitting balls on the range before the round, it worsened and developed into muscle spasms in my lower back. Unfortunately, I’m not able to continue and have to withdraw. I was excited to compete this weekend. I wish the Arnold Palmer Invitational a great finish and look forward to being back next year.”

McIlroy fired a 4-under 68 on Friday to jump into the top 10, but still entered the weekend nine shots behind 36-hole leader Daniel Berger. He is coming off a T2 finish at the Genesis Invitational in his last start. With the Players and the Masters on the horizon, McIroy arrived at Bay Hill feeling confident in the state of his game.

“It feels like it’s in really good shape,” McIlroy said on Wednesday. “I’m really happy with the signs that I saw at Pebble Beach and Riviera. I think I did really well in Strokes Gained: Approach in those two events. I drove the ball pretty well at Riviera. I just couldn’t make a putt for 27 holes. But I put that down to the sort of the very fast, bumpy poa annua. But I was really happy with where my game was coming out of the West Coast, and I’ve kept ticking along the past week and played some golf and I’m excited for these two weeks, I feel like I’m in good shape.”

The career Grand Slam winner is the defending champion at next week’s Players Championship and at the Masters, which is 33 days away. McIlroy told Golfweek’s Adam Schupak that he was “all good” as he left the Bay Hill property.

McIlroy, who defeated J.J. Spaun in a three-hole playoff at last year’s Players, is scheduled to have his pre-tournament press conference on Wednesday at 7:45 a.m.