McIlroy shares brutally honest reason Masters menu | Golf News

Rory McIlroy had a blunt reason for preserving Irish delicacies off his Masters menu — he merely would not take pleasure in it. The 36-year-old will preside over his first Masters Champions Dinner on Tuesday, following his historic Grand Slam victory last 12 months. His lately unveiled menu has generated appreciable buzz among food and golf lovers alike.

Alongside a food merchandise soon to be prohibited in New York, McIlroy‘s picks embody elk sliders and rock shrimp tempura as appetizers, wagyu filet mignon as the main course, and sticky toffee pudding for dessert. His wine record, that includes bottles priced at roughly $1,800, has notably turned heads.

However, the notable absence of Irish fare raised eyebrows — until McIlroy supplied a easy clarification at Tuesday’s Masters press convention. Meanwhile, golf icon Fred Couples had an emotional response to Tiger Woods’ DUI arrest.

“People keep asking me why I didn’t go more Irish,” he posed. “I said because I want to enjoy it as well.” The candid response drew hearty laughter from assembled reporters.

Elaborating on his menu decisions, McIlroy said: “I would say I’m quite a procrastinator, so I probably put it off for as long as possible until I actually really had to think about it, which was probably at the back end of last year, starting to think about how to put it together.

“But it was a enjoyable course of to go through. I used to be attempting to obtain one thing that I’d take pleasure in but also one thing — and it ties back to experiences that I’ve had, but also wished it to be one thing that all the other people in that room would take pleasure in as properly.

“So I tried to do a few things that I thought everyone would eat. The club encouraged me to do one vegetarian dish in the appetizers, so that’s where the peach and ricotta flatbread came from. I think that one was probably for Gary Player.

“Yeah, it has been enjoyable to work through. The membership have been superb to work with. As I said, the enjoyable half was getting access to that fantastic wine cellar that they’ve. I’m excited to share those wines with everybody tonight as properly.”

McIlroy’s responsibilities extend beyond crafting the menu, as he will also be required to deliver a speech. The Ulsterman was reluctant to reveal too many details, though the tone of his response indicated it’s a duty he has approached with considerable thought.

“I’ve thought about it a lot,” he said. “Honestly, I’ve most likely thought about that more than the food. So many legends of the sport there. Obviously there’s two that will not be with us this 12 months, which is a disgrace, but hopefully they are going to be with us in the future, and I’m sure they are going to be with us in the future.

“But talking in front of that group, I want to say the right things and make sure I get my feelings across of how grateful I am to be a part of that group.” “I’ll follow Ben Crenshaw’s lead. I know he’ll direct the run of show a little bit. But yeah, I have a few remarks that I want to make. I’m not going to say it all here, I’ll wait for tonight, but I have thought about it a lot.”