Most past champions had attended the current defending champion, Scottie Scheffler‘s PGA Champions Dinner this year at Aronimink Golf Club. The group even posed for a picture after dinner. But when fans saw it on social media, they were upset because Rory McIlroy was nowhere to be found there.

On May 12, 2026, the PGA Championship shared the picture on X and captioned it “2026 PGA Champions Dinner 🏆 #PGAChamp.” The post featured a group photo, with the Wannamaker Trophy at the center and past champions around it.

Host Scottie Scheffler was seen alongside Xander Schauffele, Keegan Bradley, Padraig Harrington, Stewart Cink, and many others. However, fans also noticed some elite champions missing from the image, including Tiger Woods, John Daly, Jack Nicklaus, and the Northern Irishman.

Ben Hogan started the Masters Champions Dinner in 1952 by inviting all past winners. Taking inspiration from that, the PGA Championship started its own dinner tradition in 1965 at Laurel Valley Golf Club in Ligonier, Pennsylvania. PGA President Warren Cantrell was the one to initiate the dinner. And Bobby Nichols, who won the major in 1964, hosted the inaugural event.

The first PGA Champions Dinner was a success. Reportedly, 19 of the 20 living champions attended it.

While the idea is the same, there are some striking differences between the two. Unlike the Masters Champions Dinner, the host alone does not bear the cost of the event. The PGA of America provides a stipend to cover some or all of the cost, depending on the menu. Similarly, there’s no strict dress code. And partners, along with other family members, can attend the event.

The Northern Irishman’s absence quickly became a talking point. The key reason was that the World No. 2 was already at Aronimink. Neither he nor the American professional gave any official announcement of his absence. So for now, the reason remains unknown. But there is much speculation, especially around his latest injury.

Regardless of the reason, fans still turned on McIlroy for his supposed insensitive behavior.

Golf fans question Rory McIlroy’s absence from the PGA Champions Dinner

“Rory can’t show up cause he has a boo boo on his toe or what?!” one fan wrote, mocking the explanation surrounding McIlroy’s blister problem. The Northern Irishman reportedly cut short his practice round ahead of the dinner because of a blister on his toe. He practiced only three rounds before heading back. However, many fans view this injury as too minor to justify missing a high-profile event such as the PGA Champions Dinner.

Despite the blister and lingering back pain issues this year, many expect the 2x Masters winner to compete in full rounds in the tournament. That distinction became central to the backlash. Some questioned the seriousness of his injury: he skipped dinner because of it, but didn’t withdraw from his PGA Championship campaign.

While some fans were direct, others took a more sarcastic route. “No Rory…good now we know they’re going to have a good time,” one user posted. The remark leaned into a long-running perception of the 30x PGA Tour winner. Many believe that the golfer carries a more polished celebrity image. That’s not something that would light up the laid-back atmosphere traditionally associated with the Champions Dinner.

For many fans, however, the issue came down to one simple point. McIlroy was already there. “Rory couldn’t be bothered it seems,” one wrote, while another added, “Where’s Rory? He’s on site!” Both these reactions note that the 2x Masters winner is already present at Aronimink Golf Club. This means that if he really wanted it, attending a dinner, which would have taken hardly more than a couple of hours, was not too hard.

Some fan reactions were entirely focused on the overall state of the PGA Champions Dinner. “It’s almost like they’re embarrassed to be there. No Tiger, Nicklaus, Player, Daly, Rory, Vijay, Phil, Elk, Toms, Davis, Price. So they stick the Seniors winner in. An odd dinner,” one fan wrote, while another commented, “Amazing how many living past champions skip this… More players skip than go.”

The criticism reflected disappointment over how many legendary names were missing from the annual gathering. Tiger Woods was not there because he had stepped away for a while after his latest DUI arrest. Similarly, Phil Mickelson skipped the Masters and, now, the PGA Championship for family reasons. Yet many others were absent from the event.

Still, with McIlroy already on site at Aronimink, his no-show remained the biggest talking point of the night and easily the detail fans found hardest to ignore.