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World No.1 golfer breaks silence after bizarre arrest

<p>World No. 1 golfer Scottie Scheffler has broken his silence after he was arrested and charged by police on Friday, ahead of the second round of the PGA Championships. </p> <p>Scheffler was detained by Louisville Metro police, after he drove onto a curb to try and get around a fatal accident that occurred in front of the Valhalla Golf Club. </p> <p>Earlier that morning, a man who was working  for a vendor at the tournament, was hit and killed by a shuttle bus while attempting to cross the street near the golf club.</p> <p>The tragic incident caused the road to close in both directions, but Scheffler reportedly “refused to comply and accelerated forward” when Detective Bryan Gillis stopped the golfer to give instructions.</p> <p>The police report obtained by <em>ESPN </em>also said that the detective who stopped him “suffered pain, swelling and abrasions to his left wrist and knee." </p> <p>Scheffler was charged with felony assault on a police officer, criminal mischief, reckless driving and disregarding signals from an officer directing traffic and was released almost four hours later. </p> <p>He returned to the golf course and issued a statement on the incident before completing his second round. </p> <p>“This morning I was proceeding as directed by police officers,” Scheffler began.</p> <p>“It was a very chaotic situation, understandably considering the tragic accident that had occurred earlier and there was a big misunderstand of what I thought I was being asked to do.</p> <p>“I never intended to disregard any of the instructions.</p> <p>“I am hopeful to put this to the side and focus on golf today.</p> <p>“Of course, all of us involved in the tournament express our deepest sympathies to the family of the man passed away in the earlier accident this morning. It truly puts everything into perspective.”</p> <p>After completing the second round, he spoke further about the incident and said: “My head is still kind of spinning, I can’t really explain what happened this morning." </p> <p>He also recalled stretching and doing his warm-ups in the jail cell, in attempt to lower his heart rate. </p> <p>“I was never angry. I was just in shock, and I think my body was just -- I was shaking the whole time. I was shaking for like an hour. It was definitely a new feeling for me," he said.</p> <p>An officer even offered him a sandwich. </p> <p>“I was like, ‘Sure, I’ll take a sandwich’. I hadn’t eaten breakfast yet. I mean, they were really kind. I’m grateful that we have such strong police, and they’re our protectors out there, and like I said, we just got into a chaotic situation this morning. That’s really all it was," he recalled. </p> <p>Scheffler’s lawyer Steve Romines said that there was a bit of confusion as the officer directing traffic didn’t appear to be part of the tournament traffic detail “and that’s where the miscommunication arose”.</p> <p><span style="font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, 'Open Sans', 'Helvetica Neue', sans-serif;">He also said that they will be pleading not guilty and told </span><em style="font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, 'Open Sans', 'Helvetica Neue', sans-serif;">The Golf Channel </em><span style="font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, 'Open Sans', 'Helvetica Neue', sans-serif;">that charges against Scheffler “will either be dropped or we will go to trial because Scottie didn’t do anything wrong.</span></p> <p>“We’re not interested in any sort of settlement negotiations or anything like that. It was just a big miscommunication.”</p> <p><em>Images: Twitter</em></p>

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Husbands fight for glory in the wife carrying world championships

<p>Grab your wife and get ready for Finland’s craziest festival.</p> <p><strong>What is it?</strong></p> <p>Pretty much what it sounds like – a kooky race in Finland where men carry their wives over a tough 250-metre course. It has its roots in an historic practice of neighbouring villages raiding each other and capturing womenfolk, but it’s evolved into a lighthearted physical contest. The first competition was held in 1992 and is now held annually on the first Saturday in July in the market square of the town of Sonkajärvi in eastern Finland. The course is made up of sand, gravel, grass, obstacles and a section of water one-metre deep.</p> <p style="text-align: center;"><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/p7IM9f16QZ4" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></p> <p><strong>How do they carry them?</strong></p> <p>Men can carry their wife however they like, but the most popular positions are the traditional piggyback, the fireman carry, the cross shoulder carry and the ‘Estonian position’. The Estonian involves the wife hanging upside down over her husband’s back with her legs out in front over his shoulders. It was named after the Estonian competitors who introduced it in the late 1990s and used it to win 11 consecutive titles. The only rules state that the wife must be aged over 17, must weigh at least 49 kilos and if she is dropped the team will incur a 15 second time penalty.</p> <p><strong>What do they win?</strong></p> <p>The winning couple will receive the wife’s weight in beer along with some wife-carrying related prizes. There are awards for best dressed couple, strongest husband and most entertaining couple. People can also compete in a 100-metre relay race in groups of four. Each man must carry the ‘baton’ (wife) for a 100-metre sprint, then down a special wife-carrying drink and hand off the baton to the next runner.</p> <p><strong>How can I attend?</strong></p> <p>If you’re really keen (and fairly fit) you can enter the race yourself. Entry fee is €50 and you’ll need to register at least one hour before the event starts. If you arrive early, you can practice on the course before the big event. Or if you’d prefer to watch, tickets range from around €18-28 for entry to the festival including concerts, food, games and, of course, the main event.</p> <p>Have you ever been to this event?</p> <p><em>Hero image credit: Twitter / ReasonsSuomi </em></p>

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Amazing pictures from the World Beard and Moustache Championships

<p>More than 300 facial hair enthusiasts from around the globe converged on Leogang, Austria, to compete in the World Beard and Moustache Championships.</p> <p>The annual event spans three days with participants sporting their gravity-defying facial hair styles across three categories – the moustache, partial beard and full beard. Within these three categories there are 17 sub-categories (everything from “Dali” moustaches to “Garibaldi” full beards) with the “freestyle” sub-categories a popular discipline for creative, gravity-defying designs.</p> <p>"We have 18 different categories and the jury decides who gets to compete in which category,” said Willi Preuss, one of the event’s organisers. “And then they judge whether the beard is grown in the way it is supposed to (according to the category)."</p> <p>Each beard is carefully judged by a panel of facial hair experts, with gold, silver and bronze winners awarded. While an increasing amount of competitors are adopting the au natural look, many beard-wearers employ staggering amounts of gel, pomade and hair spray to get their design just right.</p> <p>"I had to build this beard over two, three hours to get this result,” said Armin Knapp, one of the competitors. “Of course, in daily life you do not make such an effort."</p> <p>The first world championships was held in Germany in 1990, and since then the event has grown significantly in popularity and participation. The next event is set to take place in Brooklyn, New York, in November.</p> <p><em>Image credit: World Beards Championships </em></p> <p><strong>Related links:</strong></p> <p><a href="/lifestyle/beauty-style/2014/10/from-manscaping-to-grandscaping/"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong>From manscaping to grandscaping: how to get Sean Connery’s eyebrows</strong></em></span></a></p> <p><a href="/news/news/2015/10/nasa-released-10000-photos/"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong>NASA releases 10,000 never-before-seen photos of Apollo missions</strong></em></span></a></p> <p><a href="/lifestyle/pets/2015/10/portraits-of-dogs-young-to-old/"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong>Then and now: portraits of dogs from puppyhood to old age</strong></em></span></a></p>

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