What do Masters champions receive? Rory McIlroy earns little-known privileges alongside iconic Green Jacket and $4.5m

Oh, to be a winner at Augusta.

Ask just about any professional golfer which event they’d want to win most and the vast majority would probably say the Masters.

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It is a tournament steeped in tradition, from its strict rules for commentators and patrons to its insanely cheap food and beverage prices.

So it should come as no surprise that the last man standing at Augusta gets a swathe of special privileges their peers can only dream of.

For a second year in a row, it was Rory McIlroy who collected the Green Jacket as he held off a late surge from Scottie Scheffler.

He has become just the fourth player in history to win back-to-back titles at Augusta National.

What do Masters winners receive?

Some rewards are better known than others, such as setting the menu for the Champions Dinner to be held the year after.

McIlroy had that honour this year with a spread that included wagyu filet mignon, elk sliders, Irish champ and a selection of wines worth upwards of £1,700 per bottle.

There’s also the small issue of prize money, which was boosted from $4.2million (£3.1m) last year to $4.5m (£3.4m).

But what of those lesser-known privileges afforded to the victor?

Thanks to Golf Digest’s Jamie Kennedy, some of those have been brought to light.

The iconic Green Jacket is handed out to the winner, but most may not be aware they have an engraved gold nameplate on the inside of it.

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Winners also get to take the Green Jacket home for a year before it takes up a permanent residency at Augusta.

Another long-standing tradition for Masters winners is a gold medal, which has been given out since the inaugural event in 1934.

Just three-and-a-half inches in size, it displays an image of the Augusta clubhouse on the front.

There’s also the question of the Masters trophy, which is a stunning work of art and a replica of the Augusta clubhouse comprised of 900 individual pieces of silver.

A band on the base of the trophy bears the names of every winner.

Although they can’t take the trophy home, winners do get a smaller replica, which is estimated to be 40 per cent of the original trophy’s size.

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The clubhouse is another prominent feature on the gold locket given to the winner.

However, champions must wait until the Champions Dinner held in their honour before they get their hands on the locket.

Another perk of victory at Augusta is access to a champions-only range during Masters week.

Even though the tournament practice facility is more up-to-date and longer, the dedicated range for ex-champions gives them a sense of privacy.

That’s not the sole champions-only area at Augusta.

Winners also get access to the Champions Locker Room, although due to the small space, those lockers are shared.

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Aside from dictating the menu, winners receive an invite to the Champions Dinner every year.

The same goes for the Masters itself, with former winners such as Vijay Singh and Fred Couples among the field this year.

They also receive honorary membership to Augusta, meaning they can play the fabled fairways anytime they wish.

Another major perk of victory is being granted permission to bring a guest and play the course on the Sunday before the Masters tees off.

Last year, Scheffler decided to bring his mother along.

Of course, there’s the more timely rewards of OWGR points, with the Masters winner to earn 100.

Champions are also given an exemption to all majors and PGA Tour events for the next five years following their triumph.

Safe to say, it’s a pretty sweet deal to win at Augusta.