Gnome unknowns: Masters chair Ridley in dark about ornaments’ Augusta future
The Masters gnome drama has taken another twist after the chair of Augusta National admitted he is in the dark as to the must-have items’ future.Fred Ridley has repeatedly asked whether 2026 will be the final year for gnomes being on sale – as has been widely speculated – but revealed there is internal secrecy even towards him.Ridley’s annual Masters media address took an amusing turn when a questioner put what was suggested as a “trivial” poser towards him: are reports of the gnomes’ demise correct? “Number one, the question is not trivial,” he said.“Number two: I’ve been asking that question for several years and they won’t tell me the answer.So I can’t help you.
”Who “they” are is unclear, but it is intriguing that someone of Ridley’s standing in Augusta is being cut out of the conversation.The stampede for Masters gnomes, which typically sell out within one morning hour, is understood to have left officials with concerns about the spectator experience in merchandise outlets.The gnomes cost $49.50 (£37), but have huge resale value.On matters more serious, Ridley has maintained Augusta’s position on a potential rollback of the ball.
The issue has met with resistance from equipment manufacturers and several leading players.“I want to be clear that our position is grounded on much more than protecting the Augusta National golf course,” Ridley said.“We will continue to make modifications as are necessary to react to driving distances that in some cases exceed 350 yards.“Unfortunately, many courses, including some iconic venues, do not have that option.Until recent years golf has been a game of imagination, creativity and variety.
The game has become much more one-dimensional,“My feeling on this subject is that failure is not an option,We need to continue to work together to come to some agreement,”
Oil price rises as markets question durability of Middle East ceasefire
Oil and gas prices rose on Thursday and Asian stock markets retreated as the two-week ceasefire in Iran looked increasingly shaky, with Israel continuing attacks on Lebanon and the US and Iran threatening a return to military action.A day after the US and Iran announced an 11th-hour ceasefire, including an agreement to reopen the strait of Hormuz, many questions remain and there were signs that the truce was already being broken, causing jitters in the markets.Brent crude, the global benchmark, rose more than 2% on Thursday but remained below $100 a barrel, at $96.77, while New York light crude climbed almost 3% to $97.23 a barrel
Oil rises and global stocks wobble amid worries over ‘fragile’ ceasefire deal in Middle East – business live
Good morning, and welcome to our rolling coverage of business, the financial markets and the world economy.Uncertainty over the US-Iran ceasefire deal has triggered a rise in oil prices this morning.Brent crude, the international benchmark for oil prices, rose by 2.1% to $96.77 a barrel, while New York light crude rose by almost 3% to $97
British computer scientist denies he is bitcoin developer Satoshi Nakamoto
A British computer scientist has insisted he is not the elusive developer of bitcoin, after a report claimed to unmask him as its creator.A story in the New York Times details a years-long effort to unmask Satoshi Nakamoto, the mysterious author of the bitcoin white paper which laid the theoretical foundations for modern digital currencies.It names Adam Back, a London-born computer scientist and entrepreneur. In a thread on X, Back promptly denied being the mysterious – and presumably ultra-wealthy – technologist.“I also don’t know who satoshi is, and i think it is good for bitcoin that this is the case, as it helps bitcoin be viewed [as] a new asset class, the mathematically scarce digital commodity,” he wrote
Britons warned about Russian hackers targeting internet routers for espionage
Russian hackers are exploiting commonly sold internet routers to harvest information for espionage purposes, the UK’s cybersecurity agency has said.The hack could allow attackers to obtain users’ credentials, redirect them to fake sites, and potentially access other devices on their home network such as phones and PCs, said Alan Woodward, a professor at the University of Surrey.The National Cyber Security Centre said on Tuesday the operations were “believed to be opportunistic in nature, with the actor targeting a wide pool of victims and then likely filtering down for users of potential intelligence value at each stage of the exploitation chain”.It follows a common pattern of cyber-actors targeting edge devices – hardware such as internet routers or internet-connected security cameras – that act as a bridge between users and the cloud.Woodward said: “It’s not the first time that warnings have come out about routers
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
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