LANCASTER, Pa. – Charley Hull was asked for an autograph on her way down to the driving range on Tuesday at the U.S. Women’s Open Championship. Nothing unordinary about that, except that the Englishwoman happened to be smoking a cigarette at the time. With her hands full, Hull kept the cigarette in her mouth as she scribbled away. Golf.com’s Zephyr Melton was there to document the moment with his cell phone, and it quickly went viral.
“I find it quite funny, because I actually do go to the gym and I’m a very healthy person,” Hull told the media after a closing 3-under 67 at Lancaster Country Club. “I only smoke. I hardly drink. I don’t need to drink because, actually, I can have a fun time without it.
“Yeah, listen, my dad smokes 40 a day since he was 12 years old and now he’s 75, and my nephew smokes who is like 25. My whole family smokes, so it’s not something that I’ve noticed being odd. I hate smoking. I used to curse at my dad when I was younger for smoking, but I think it’s to do a little bit when I’m stressed.”
.@HullCharley making John Daly proud. 😂 pic.twitter.com/hmp7EaiKRr
— GOLF.com (@GOLF_com) May 28, 2024
In fact, 28-year-old Hull said she only picked up smoking because she wanted to stop vaping. Not that vaping is any better of her, but she can’t smoke a cigarette indoors.
“When it’s a slow round on the golf course,” she said, “I smoke quite a few more than I should.
“But listen, I will stop soon. It’s just when.”
Hull, a two-time winner on the LPGA, has always been one of the great characters in the women’s game. Many fans became familiar with her for the first time at the 2013 Solheim Cup in Colorado when she beat Paula Creamer, 5 and 4, in singles play and then asked for her autograph for a mate back home. Hull was 17 at the time, the youngest player in Solheim history.
Last year, she finished runner-up to Allisen Corpuz at the U.S. Women’s Open at Pebble Beach and delivered one of the most memorable on-course moments on the 18th Sunday, when she took an aggressive line under a tree with a 3-wood in an attempt to reach the iconic green in two to put pressure on Corpuz.
“You know the saying, shy kids don’t get sweets?” Hull asked her caddie shortly before taking a mighty big swing.
Please enjoy this live footage of me barely keeping it together as @melreidgolf tells an epic Charley Hull story on Live From @GolfChannel pic.twitter.com/B9yzbaCyTA
— Kira K. Dixon…
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