Charley Hull reveals why she’s had a disastrous start to 2024 Olympics… and it has nothing to do with the cigarette ban
British golfer Charley Hull has spoken out about her poor start at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
The 28-year-old, who went viral for puffing on a cigarette earlier this year, wasn’t using the smoking ban as an excuse after she shot a nine-over par 81 in the opening round of women’s play on Wednesday.
‘Definitely not,’ Hull told reporters, per USA Today, when asked if the cigarette ban contributed to her disastrous first round.
The Brit recently suffered a shoulder injury when she fell while getting out of the shower, and her game has been ‘rusty’ as a result.
When speaking to media earlier in the week, she said smoking ‘relaxes’ her, and predicted it could impact her game.
‘But it is what it is,’ she said at the time.
Hull also spoke to Mail Sport about her Olympics return, after she pulled out of the pandemic-delayed Games in 2021, admitting it was the bubble restrictions that ultimately forced her decision.
‘It was the right thing to do at the time, but it makes me even more excited for Paris as Rio was such a long time ago,’ she told us this week.
The two-time winner on the LPGA will tee it up at former Ryder Cup course, Le Golf National from August 7 to 10 alongside close friend and fellow British star, Georgia Hall.
While Paris marks Hull’s second Olympics, Hall will make her debut and the best friends could not be more excited to compete alongside each other.
‘We have known each other since we were 11 and grew up practicing together. It’s perfect to get to play with my best mate,’ Hull explained.
‘Being able to play in the Olympics is a dream. I’m excited for that and also meeting new athletes that I may not have had the chance to meet.’
Back in May, Hull was snapped signing autographs with a lit cigarette in her mouth at Lancaster Country Club, sparking comparisons to John Daly.
‘It’s actually quite funny,’ she told reporters after the photo went viral.
‘I don’t know – all over a cigarette, I suppose. But I genuinely was walking to the range and had my hands full. Someone asked me for an autograph and I’m not going to say no because I always like signing autographs for them.’