Fan lets one rip during Scottie Scheffler shot at The Open Championship
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Seconds after the world No. 1 nearly holed a short approach shot at the par-4 17th hole, a fan let loose a fart for the ages that was picked up by television microphones and broadcast to millions around the world.
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Commentators couldn't help themselves as they burst into laughter, even going so far as to join in the fun.
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'What are you laughing about?' one said.
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'There is so much to say about that shot,' the other replied, before adding, 'but let's stick to the golf.'
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However, the television crew finally decided to go all in during the replay.
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'Just a little bit of wind from behind, just helped it ease down the green,' one said.
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A contender for shot of the day and a lock for fart of the year.
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Doesn't matter how old you get, a well-timed fart will never not be funny pic.twitter.com/fsJcvBu24J
— Patrick McDonald (@pmcdonaldCBS) July 17, 2025
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Plenty of eyes were on Scheffler on Thursday after the game's best player shocked the sports world in his pre-tournament press conference saying he finds professional sports to be 'an unsatisfying venture,' and went as far as to question why he does it.
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'I'm not out here to inspire the next generation of golfers,' Scheffler said. 'I'm not out here to inspire someone to be the best player in the world because what's the point? This is not a fulfilling life.'
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CTV News
2 hours ago
- CTV News
Medieval scribe's slip-up triggered centuries of confusion over a long-lost saga. Researchers finally decoded the error
The Song of Wade epic was once so popular that a preacher referenced it in his 13th-century sermon (pictured). (Courtesy of the Master and Fellows of Peterhouse/University of Cambridge via CNN Newsource) Lesser known than some other beloved tales of larger-than-life heroes such as Gilgamesh, Beowulf and King Arthur, the Song of Wade is a case study in what happens when stories aren't written down. The epic was once widely known throughout medieval and Renaissance England — so popular that it was mentioned twice by Chaucer — but today it is mostly forgotten. Only a few phrases survive, and new research is showing how, when so little of a story is preserved, changes in a word or two can alter the entire tale. The Song of Wade originated in the 12th century, and its hero battled monsters — or so scholars once thought. The only known text was found nearly 130 years ago in a 13th- century Latin sermon, which quoted a bit of the saga in Middle English. In the excerpt, the word 'ylues' was originally translated as 'elves,' suggesting that Wade's long-lost saga was teeming with supernatural creatures. Researchers at the University of Cambridge in the U.K. have challenged that interpretation. They proposed that the word's meaning was mangled by a scribe's transcription error, which changed a 'w' to a 'y.' 'Elves' is actually 'wolves,' and the term was allegorical, referring to dangerous men, according to the analysis. Another word in the excerpt, translated as 'sprites,' should instead be 'sea snakes,' moving the story even farther away from the realm of the supernatural, the researchers reported July 15 in The Review of English Studies. This new reading revises not only the phrases quoted in the sermon, but also the entire Song of Wade, centering the hero amid worldly dangers rather than mythical beasts. It overturns the picture of Wade as a literary twin to Beowulf, legendary slayer of the warrior-eating monster Grendel, said study coauthor Dr. Seb Falk, a researcher of science history and a fellow at Cambridge's Girton College. 'He was more like a hero of chivalric romance (a literary genre celebrating knights, codes of honor and romantic love) like Sir Launcelot or Sir Gawain,' Falk told CNN in an email. For hundreds of years, historians and literary experts have argued over why Chaucer would have mentioned the Song of Wade in his chivalric works. Recasting Wade as a courtly hero rather than a monster slayer makes Wade's appearance in Chaucer's writing a better fit and could help to uncover previously hidden meanings in those literary references, the authors wrote. A medieval meme The new study is the first to analyze the Song of Wade excerpt alongside the entirety of the Latin sermon that quotes it, said study coauthor Dr. James Wade, an associate professor of English Literature at Girton College. (The surname 'Wade' was relatively common in medieval England, and while Wade the researcher could not confirm a family connection to the storied hero, a link 'isn't impossible,' he told CNN in an email.) In fact, it was the context of the sermon that led the researchers to the discovery that the fragment in English had been misinterpreted, Wade said. The sermon was about humility, and it warned that some people 'are wolves, such as powerful tyrants' who take 'by any means.' There are other allusions to unfavorable animal traits in humans. As originally translated, the Song of Wade excerpt read: 'Some are elves and some are adders; some are sprites that dwell by waters: there is no man, but Hildebrand (Wade's father) only.' For centuries, scholars have struggled to make sense of why references to 'elves' and 'sprites' were included in a sermon about humility. According to the new translation, the excerpt reads: 'Some are wolves and some are adders; some are sea-snakes that dwell by the water. There is no man at all but Hildebrand.' Reinterpreted this way, the quoted phrases align more closely with the overall message of the sermon and redefine the genre of the story. 'We realised that taking the fragment together with its context would allow us not only to completely reinterpret the Wade legend, but also to reshape our understanding of how stories were told and retold in different cultural contexts, including religious contexts,' Wade said. Dr. James Wade (left) and Dr. Seb Falk Study coauthors Dr. James Wade (left) and Dr. Seb Falk study the sermon mentioning the Song of Wade. (Courtesy of the Master and Fellows of Peterhouse/University of Cambridge via CNN Newsource) The long-standing difficulties in interpreting the excerpt are a reminder that paleography — the study of handwritten documents — 'is not always an exact or precise science,' said Dr. Stephanie Trigg, Redmond Barry Distinguished Professor of English Literature at the University of Melbourne in Australia, 'especially in the transmission of English and other vernacular texts without the standardised spelling and abbreviations of Latin.' Focusing on the sermon is also important because this type of allusion to a popular epic was highly unusual, Trigg, who was not involved in the research, told CNN in an email. 'The authors are right to draw attention to the way the sermon seems to be quoting medieval popular culture: this is not all that common,' Trigg said. 'It helps disturb some traditional views about medieval piety.' When the preacher used the Song of Wade in his sermon, it was clear that he expected his audience to accept the reference 'as a recognisable element of popular culture: a meme,' Falk said. 'By studying this sermon in depth we get a wonderful insight into the resonances that such popular literature had across culture.' Romantic and Fantastic This new perspective on Wade's saga doesn't mean that it was based exclusively in realism. While there are no other known excerpts of the Song of Wade, references to Wade in texts spanning centuries offer details fantastic enough to delight fans of J.R.R. Tolkien's epic 'Lord of the Rings.' 'In one romance text, it's said that (Wade) slays a dragon,' Falk said. 'There is local folklore in Yorkshire, recorded by John Leland in the 1530s, that he was of gigantic stature.' Other texts stated that Wade's father was a giant and that his mother was a mermaid, he added. In fact, chivalric romance from this period frequently incorporated elements of fantasy, Trigg said. In the chivalric literary tradition, 'romances often draw on mythological creatures and the supernatural,' and the distinction between chivalric romances and mythology 'is not always rigorously made in medieval literature,' she added. Still, aligning the Song of Wade more closely with medieval romances clears up long-standing confusion over allusions to Wade by Geoffrey Chaucer, during scenes of courtly intrigue in 'Merchant's Tale' and 'Troilus and Criseyde.' 'Chaucer referring to a Beowulf-like 'dark-age' warrior in these moments is weird and confusing,' Falk said. 'The idea that Chaucer is referring to a hero of medieval romance makes a lot more sense.' While the Song of Wade has faded into obscurity, its appearance in the medieval sermon and in Chaucer's work hints that for centuries the legend was a staple of popular culture in medieval England, even though there was no definitive text preserving the entire tale. As its popularity waned, much of it vanished for good. 'By the eighteenth century there were no known surviving texts and nobody seemed to know the story,' Wade said. 'Part of the enduring allure is the idea of something that was once part of common knowledge suddenly becoming 'lost.'' By Mindy Weisberger.
CBC
12 hours ago
- CBC
Scottie Scheffler on verge of 4th major title at British Open with 4-shot lead
The question Scottie Scheffler was asking of himself at the start of the week could very well be posed to those chasing him in the British Open. What's the point? Scheffler delivered another example Saturday at Royal Portrush why he has dominated golf the last three years. He was the only player in the last eight groups not to make a bogey on his way to a 4-under 67 that allowed him to open a four-shot lead as he goes for the third leg of the career Grand Slam. Scheffler has won the last 10 times he has led after 54 holes. It's never easy, no matter how he makes it look. But on this gorgeous day he was in full command of his game, and now is in prime position to win his second major of the year. He was helped by a 6-iron to 10 feet for eagle on the par-5 seventh, and saved by three big par saves, two on the back nine, to keep everyone at a distance. "Talking of execution, he's probably the best in the business right now," Rory McIlroy said after a 5-under 66 that brought him to only within six shots of Scheffler. Scheffler had the golf world buzzing earlier this week when he said celebrations don't last but a few minutes. He loves the competition. He loves the work. But in terms of fulfilment, he often questions why he wants to win so badly when the thrill of winning is fleeting. Ahead of him is competition, and still plenty of work. He was at 14-under 199, four shots ahead of Li Haotong of China, who delivered his own mystery by saying he had no idea how he recovered from the full swing yips a few years ago to be in the final group of a major for the first time. Another shot back was Matt Fitzpatrick, who was tied with Scheffler through six holes and couldn't stay with him when the No. 1 player began to pull away. Fitzpatrick missed a pair of short par putts and had to settle for a 71. The biggest roars belonged to McIlroy, so much that it felt as though all of Northern Ireland was behind him. There wasn't an inch of grass or gorse to be seen beyond the wall of people lining the fairways. There were 30-yard gaps along the ropes for Scheffler. McIlroy opened with three birdies in four holes. The roar that shook Royal Portrush came on the par-5 12th when McIlroy holed a 55-foot eagle putt that gave him a spark and the gallery hope — even though he still was six behind. He produced only one more birdie the rest of the way and still faced a big climb. "I played well enough today to at least feel like I have a chance tomorrow," McIlroy said. "Yeah, it's going to be tough to catch him tomorrow if he keeps playing the way he does. But if I can get out tomorrow and get off to a similar start to what I did today, get the crowd going ... you never know. But I just need to go out and play another really good round of golf tomorrow and see what happens." Conners climbs leaderboard After just making the cut on the number, Corey Conners of Listowel, Ont., fired a 5-under 66 on Saturday to motor up the leaderboard. The lone Canadian to make the cut was tied for 22nd at 10 shots off the lead. But this championship is now in the hands of Scheffler, who has been No. 1 in the world longer than anyone since Tiger Woods. And there was nothing Saturday to indicate he was going to make it easy on anyone chasing him. "I'm just trying to execute, not overthinking things," Scheffler said. "I feel like I've been doing the right thing so far, and I'm looking forward to the challenge of tomorrow." After his first three-putt of the tournament — making par after reaching the par-5 second hole in two shots — Scheffler made a 10-foot par putt that was as big as any. In deep trouble behind the 11th green, he hacked out to 10 feet to save par, then saved another par from the deep grass left of the 14th fairway. Royal Portrush has a nasty par 3 at No. 16 known as "Calamity Corner." Scheffler made birdie for the third straight day, this time a 3-iron that settled 15 feet below the cup. Each shot helped him pull away from the field. Each shot moved him closer to the claret jug, to go along with the PGA Championship he won in May and the two Masters green jackets he has won in two in the last four years. Buried ball baffles McIlroy McIlroy, who revved up the enormous crowd early, had the most bizarre moment of the championship when he went to gouge out a shot from the rough right of the 11th fairway and a second ball emerged from the turf. "It's never happened to me before," McIlroy said. "It could never on any other course but a links course." It led to his lone bogey. He responded with that eagle putt and probably needed more. "Scottie is ... it's inevitable," McIlroy said. "Even when he doesn't have his best stuff, he's become a complete player." This is what McIlroy noticed last year, when Scheffler won nine times around the world. What impressed him was that Scheffler played so many bogey-free rounds. Scheffler picked a great time for another one. "I think the card could look stress-free, but I had two really nice par saves on the back nine that were key .. two really important putts," he said. "I think any time you can keep a clean card around a major championship, you're going to be having a pretty good day." Fitzpatrick did his best to keep pace, but he missed a 4-foot par putt on the 13th, got a bad bounce on the 17th that led to another bogey and wound up five shots behind. "Just didn't make any putts. I didn't hit it close enough," Fitzpatrick said. "Drove it well enough, didn't hit it close enough. Just made way less putts than Scottie." Scheffler will be paired in the last group with Li, who made history in 2020 at the PGA Championship when he held the 36-hole lead, becoming the first player from China to lead in a major. Li didn't make his first bogey until the 13th hole, and he dropped another shot on the 18th by driving into a pot bunker. Scottish Open champion Chris Gotterup, in his first appearance in the British Open, had a 68 and joined the group at 8-under 205 that included McIlroy, Harris English (68) and Tyrrell Hatton (68). This is Scheffler's largest 54-hole lead in a major — he was up by three shots at the PGA Championship and three shots in the 2022 Masters.
Toronto Star
13 hours ago
- Toronto Star
Scottie Scheffler on the verge of another major at the British Open with four-shot lead
Scottie Scheffler of the United States acknowledges the crowd on the 18th green during the second round of the British Open golf championship at the Royal Portrush Golf Club, Northern Ireland, Friday, July 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Peter Morrison) AG flag wire: true flag sponsored: false article_type: : sWebsitePrimaryPublication : publications/toronto_star bHasMigratedAvatar : false :
