AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) — John James arrived at Augusta National an hour before the gates opened to patrons for the 90th Masters — all for the purpose of securing a 13 1/2-inch tall gnome.
“Had to have one,” said James, who was attending the Masters from Wyckoff, New Jersey. “It's a novelty.”
This is the 10th and perhaps final year Augusta National will sell the limited edition gnome, which features the traditional old man with a white beard in colorful golf attire. Each year's gnome is different, with the 2026 edition featuring the character dressed in khaki pants with a white-and-green striped polo shirt and blue vest holding an umbrella in one hand and a Masters-themed cup in the other.
The gnomes have become wildly popular — and increasingly valuable — over the last decade.
With only about 1,000 available each day, the gnomes regularly sell out within an hour each morning at the merchandise shop before being restocked the following day. This year's gnome sells for $59.50 plus tax and is only available at Augusta National.
It has become a big money-maker for some patrons on the resale market.
The bidding for one gnome on eBay reached $620 on Friday with two days still remaining in the auction. Another can be purchased directly for $670 plus delivery cost, but there are dozens of others listed for similar prices.
On Facebook Marketplace, some gnomes are being sold for $800.
Fueling the price is speculation this may be the final year that the gnome will be produced.
Masters chairman Fred Ridley was asked earlier in the week if this will be the final edition. He responded by saying, “I’ve been asking that question for several years, and they won’t tell me the answer. So I can’t help you.”
When asked if he'd consider selling his gnome, James laughed and said, “Maybe.”
“I mean, I just spent more than $1,000 in the gift shop, so from what I've heard the gnome might pay for all of it,” James said. “I'll have to think about it, but it's definitely an option.”
John Van Pay, who came from San Antonio, got caught up in the gnome hysteria after talking with a friend associated with the LIV tour the night before attending the Masters. He convinced his son, Bryce, to wake up early and get to the course, and limited to one per person, they each walked out of the merchandise shop with a gnome.
“Yeah, we kept hearing about this gnome, and the rumor is it's going to be the last year they produce them,” Van Pay said. “So next thing you know, we are waiting in line at 7 a.m. to buy this gnome at the shop.”
Van Pay said he plans to keep his gnome as a souvenir of his trip to the Masters, calling it “a great piece of memorabilia” and something that “is going to look great on the shelf.” The younger Van Pay is a little more torn; he's an avid memorabilia collector, mostly dealing with Funko Pop.
Bryce Van Pay recounted how he recently had a $10 trading card that exploded on the market and reached $300 in value following the release of the most recent Marvel movie, only to watch it's worth slip to $100 a few months later. Van Pay lamented not selling it when it was at its most valuable.
“The Masters gnome is a hot seller and I'm not sure if it's going to go up and down (in value),” the younger Van Pay said. “There is a lot in circulation right now (on eBay and other platforms)."
He said given the possibility this is the last gnome produced, the wiser financial decision might be to hold onto it for a while.
With that, his father jumped in and said: “Well, he's my only son, so he can sell his now and make money and have mine when I hand it down to him.”
AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf
A patron walks with a gnome near the sixth hole during a practice round at of the Masters golf tournament at the Augusta National Golf Club, Monday, April 6, 2026, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
Patrons walk past this years gnome on the 12th hole during the first round of the Masters golf tournament at the Augusta National Golf Club, Thursday, April 9, 2026, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Two planes carrying 19 Australian women and children linked to the Islamic State group in Syria landed in Melbourne and Sydney on Tuesday, despite Australia's government warning that the returnees could face charges.
The government earlier confirmed seven women and 12 children were heading home on Qatar Airways flights, less than three weeks after a group of 13 people in similar situations returned to Australia’s two largest cities.
Two women with seven children flew to Melbourne. Four women with six children landed about an hour later in Sydney, a joint police and intelligence agency statement said.
No one had been charged on arrival, but investigations into their activities in Syria were continuing, the statement said. Three of four women who returned home earlier were charged with slavery and terrorism offenses and remain behind bars.
Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said anyone among the 19 on their way to Australia who has committed crimes "can expect to face the full force of the law.”
“The government has not and will not provide any assistance to this group,” Burke said in a statement.
“These are people who have made the horrific choice to join a dangerous terrorist organisation and to place their children in an unspeakable situation,” he added.
Australian law enforcement and intelligence agencies have been preparing for their return since 2014 and have long-standing plans in place to manage and monitor them, Burke said.
“The priority of the government, as always, is the safety of the Australian community,” he said.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese had earlier told Parliament: “I have nothing but contempt for anyone who has any sympathy for ISIS,” referring to IS by an acronym for the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria.
The bid by general practice doctor Jamal Rifi, a community leader in Sydney’s Lebanese Muslim diaspora, to return 34 Australian women and children from Syria failed in February. Syrian authorities blocked their convoy's route to Damascus and turned them back to Roj camp, a location in northeast Syria near the Iraq border where people linked to IS have been held since IS forces in the Middle East were defeated in 2019.
Riji told the Australian Broadcasting Corp. on Tuesday that Syrian authorities had since been persuaded that the majority of Australians in Roj were children who had a legal right to grow up in Australia.
“These women are caring mothers,” he said of the 19 women who just landed in Australia.
“Definitely joining willingly the death cult of the un-Islamic caliphate, it’s a terrible decision. Some of these women, I believe they were tricked to go there. Some of them are victims of the death cult and others are not," Riji said.
After the departure of the latest group, at least two Australians remain in Roj camp, including a mother who was prevented from returning to Australia in February by a temporary exclusion order.
Exclusion orders were created by laws introduced in 2019 to prevent defeated IS fighters from returning to Australia for up to two years.
The woman, aged around 29, had remained at Roj with her daughter, who had been disabled by shrapnel wounds, The Australian newspaper reported. She left her Sydney home at the age of 18 in 2015 to marry an IS fighter in Syria, the newspaper reported.
Her family has engaged a Sydney lawyer to challenge the order, which bars the mother from Australia until February 2028.
The last Australian cohort returned from Syria on May 7, similarly without government help.
Kawsar Ahmed, also known Kawsar Abbas, 53, and her daughter Zeinab Ahmed, 31, were arrested when they landed in Melbourne over allegations that their family had bought a female Yazidi slave.
Janai Safar, 32, was arrested at Sydney Airport when she arrived with her 9-year-old son on charges of being a member of a terrorist organization and of entering or remaining in a region controlled by a terrorist organization.
Australian governments have repatriated Australian women and children from Syrian detention camps on two occasions. Other Australians have returned quietly without government assistance.
FILE - Australian Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke speaks to the media during a press conference at Parliament House in Canberra, Australia, Wednesday, March 11, 2026. (Lukas Coch/AAPImage via AP, File)
FILE - A group of supporters surround a woman and child with alleged ties to the Islamic State as they arrive at Melbourne international Airport, in Melbourne, Australia, Thursday, May 7, 2026. (Joel Carrett/AAP Image via AP, File)
FILE - A group of supporters surround a woman and child with alleged ties to the Islamic State as they arrive at Melbourne international Airport, in Melbourne, Australia, Thursday, May 7, 2026. (Joel Carrett/AAP Image via AP, File)
