Masters winners have been spilling the beans on Rory McIlroy’s Champions Dinner at Augusta National, where Jack Nicklaus accidentally left a fellow guest in pain
Rory McIlroy’s Masters Champions Dinner has received rave reviews from the likes of Sir Nick Faldo, Jordan Spieth and Augusta National chairman Fred Ridley.
But there was one awkward moment at golf’s most exclusive dinner on Tuesday when six-time champion Jack Nicklaus left 2008 winner Trevor Immelman with a sore foot.
It was all part of the fun and games as McIlroy celebrated his remarkable victory 12 months ago to complete the career Grand Slam. He served a “world-class,” and expensive, selection of food and wine, and guests passed around a driver owned by nine-time major champion Ben Hogan.
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Faldo, a three-time Masters champion, said that Nicklaus was on top form at the event, although the 86-year-old planted his walking stick onto the foot of Immelman without knowing.
“Dear Jack’s getting a bit old, and he came up with a cane, the one that’s got the four claws on the bottom,” Faldo said in an Instagram video.
“He doesn’t realise he’s put the claw on Trevor Immelman’s foot and, so while he’s leaning on it Trevor’s going [in a pained voice], ‘Oh, how are you, Jack? How are you feeling?’ So poor Trevor’s walking with a limp today.”
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Faldo is not afraid to criticise the food on offer at the Champions Dinner if it is not to his taste. Bubba Watson got a particularly brutal verdict after his efforts in 2013 and 2015, likening the food to a Happy Meal. But Faldo had only praise for McIlroy’s dinner.
“It was very nice, the food was great,” he said. “It was a really cool moment when Rory, Jack, and Gary [Player] were siphoned off for a photograph secretly, you know, they’re the only Grand Slam winners here, so that’s a very cool moment for Rory. He spoke well, of course, that was all good.”
Jordan Spieth, the 2015 champion, also gave a glowing review. He said the wagyu fillet mignon was his favorite dish, and he added: “The food was incredible. It’s one of the best, like, dinners that we’ve had on the meal. His choices were fantastic. And there were some great stories told.
“Obviously, he completed the slam and won the Masters, which had been something that had been held over his head by others and probably himself for a long time, and you obviously saw what it meant to him last year. And then gets to come back and enjoy the perks of what that means when you come back as the defending champion.”
Augusta National chairman Ridley was also in the room, and he said: “Rory was a wonderful host at last night’s Masters Club Dinner.
“That evening always is a special occasion, but especially when we celebrate a first-time champion. I should say that, like his golf game, Rory’s menu and wine selection were world-class.”

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