Tom Watson blasts PGA Tour over returns of LIV Golf rebels Reed and Koepka

The honorary first drive was not the only shot Tom Watson played on the first morning of the 2026 Masters. Moments after taking part in the ceremony Watson, who won eight majors, lambasted the PGA Tour over its recent decision to allow Brooks Koepka and Patrick Reed to return from LIV Golf.Watson said by reinstating Reed and Koepka the Tour had reneged on the promises it made to the players who had remained loyal to it during the schism. “I thought the LIV players, when they left, were supposed to be banned for life,” he said.Watson said that if he were running things Reed, Koepka and anyone else who wants to return would have to qualify through playing on the Korn Ferry Tour

Michael Jordan’s second act: how the Jumpman became Nascar’s hottest owner

After years of frustration as an NBA executive, the basketball legend’s 23XI Racing team has surged to the front of the Cup series, reshaping his legacy Michael Jordan the basketball player is success personified, the legend against whom all others are measured. Michael Jordan the sports executive, on the other hand, has spent much of the past three decades falling short of his own impossible standard.In 1999, Jordan joined Abe Pollin’s Washington Wizards ownership group as a history-making minority partner, but neither his star power nor a brief return from retirement translated into sustained team success. Eleven years later, he took over the Charlotte Bobcats, replacing BET co-founder Robert Johnson as the league’s only Black majority owner – but poor roster moves, questionable hires and three playoff appearances in 13 years, with nary one series victory, ultimately became his legacy as the principal steward of the retro-branded Charlotte Hornets.When he sold his stake in 2023 for $3bn, in part to focus on his nascent 23XI Nascar Cup operation (pronounced twenty-three eleven), a joint venture with Jordan Brand racing ambassador Denny Hamlin, many assumed Jordan the exec would only bring about more disappointment before fully retreating into his golf and gambling hobbies

Women’s Six Nations 2026: team-by-team guide to the tournament

World champions England will be favourites to repeat last year’s grand slam but France and Ireland will eye an upsetCoach John Mitchell Captain Meg Jones Last year’s finish Grand slam championsEngland are on a high after winning the World Cup and will take to the pitch against Ireland on Saturday for the first time since they were crowned world champions in September. There have been some changes to the squad, including the retirements of Abby Dow and Emily Scarratt as well as Tatyana Heard’s foot injury and the pregnancies of Zoe Stratford (formerly Aldcroft, the captain), Abbie Ward and Lark Atkin-Davies. Scarratt is now England’s attack and backs coach and seven of the 38-player squad are uncapped. Though they are depleted, England are firm favourites and while many may think the Red Roses do not have anything else to conquer, their new captain, Meg Jones, has outlined their target for this tournament. “We could be the first men or women’s team to win a Six Nations after a World Cup win so that is definitely a challenge we are very aware of,” she said

How Augusta National outwitted ticket resellers and kept door closed on Trump

Jeffrey Epstein’s web of influence stretched from European palaces to Ivy League universities and Wall Street banks, but there was apparently at least one little corner of the establishment that seems to have been beyond his reach: Augusta National. In July 2019, Epstein sent an iMessage to Steve Bannon asking for his help with a particularly difficult problem. “Need to work magic to get brad Karp admitted to augusta golf club,” Epstein wrote. “The head of Paul Weiss Brad Karp?” Bannon replied. “Yes

Rahm stands out as Masters favourite as Augusta adjusts to post-Tiger world

Spaniard is seeking his second Green Jacket at first Masters since 1994 without Tiger Woods or Phil MickelsonHalf a mile from the gates of Augusta National, at the foot of Washington Road, sits a keyboard and piano store. It closes on Masters week every year. “Spring has sprung and so have we,” reads a sign in the forecourt. Clearly there is insufficient correlation between golf fans and those with a tendency to tinkle the ivories (or similar) for the business to remain open.Masters mania is not for everyone

‘Every accident at high speed is a shock’: F1 rules guru on response to Bearman crash

As talks begin over fixing the controversial regulations, the FIA’s Nikolas Tombazis says changes to ‘specific aspects’ are needed, not a total overhaulFormula One has endured a somewhat turbulent opening this season under the sport’s new regulations. Amid the sound and fury of some driver dissatisfaction with the new formula and safety concerns brought sharply into focus by a huge accident at the Japanese Grand Prix, three races in there is now an opportunity to propose changes, with the man who has been at the heart of the process since it began quietly confident that F1 can adapt successfully.Nikolas Tombazis is the single-seater director for F1’s governing body, the FIA, and has been with the organisation since 2018. He was there when the very first discussions of the 2026 regulations took place in January 2021 and has been central to their evolution since. In his calm and articulate fashion, Tombazis says the noise around the new regulations is overstated