Quadrilateral: Major(s) News And Notes, December 23rd, 2021

Did Five Family loyalty drive the R&A to yank a longstanding exemption and should they regret it? Plus, Masters invitations go out, a hefty Ryder Cup license fee and The Open embraces YouTube.

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Wozilroy Engagement Fall-Out: Twitter Up, Ladbrokes Down

Miriam Donohoe analyzes the young couple's decision to announce their engagement on Twitter and says that while the sharing of private moment might be odd to one generation, it's also a sign of savvy media management by Rory McIlroy and Caroline Wozniacki.

Donohoe writes:

However, while this kind of sharing may seem like self-inflicted privacy invasion, in many cases it amounts to savvy media management. It is a way for celebrities to actually control privacy rather than giving it up.

WHILE the paparazzi won't stop stalking the tweeting stars such as Britney Spears, what they can get from them now is often devalued. We know it already -- directly from source.

The truth is we all love knowing about the lives of celebrities. And by sharing information authentically, celebs are engaging with fans and are building their brand. Twitter is one of the quickest ways to reach millions and millions.

So congratulations Rory and Caroline. Look forward to your updates. And one question for you Rory? How much did that huge rock on Caroline's finger cost?

Esther Addley in The Guardian reports that bookmaker Ladbrokes will pay up on the news.

The bookmaker Ladbrokes, which offered odds of 5-1 last January against the couple getting engaged in 2013, confirmed that it would pay out, even though the announcement came after midnight New Year's Day, Australian time. "It's not the time to be pedantic as far as we are concerned," said a spokesman.