For Charley Hull, it was nothing more than being fan friendly. For fans, it was a viral moment.
Hull was recorded prior to the start of the U.S. Women’s Open signing autographs with a cigarette dangling from her lip. It was one of several videos and images of Hull “ripping darts” this week at Lancaster Country Club.
.@HullCharley making John Daly proud. 😂 pic.twitter.com/hmp7EaiKRr
— GOLF.com (@GOLF_com) May 28, 2024
Social media ate up the “authenticity” and Sunday, after Hull concluded her championship, she addressed the initial viral moment.
“I genuinely was walking to the range, had my hands full, someone asked me for an autograph, I’m not going to say no because I always like signing autographs. Had a cigarette in my mouth, signed it, and then it’s gone viral,” she said.
A year ago, Hull made headlines at the U.S. Women’s Open by nearly winning at Pebble Beach. Her aggressive second shot on the par-5 18th that Sunday was noted for Hull exclaiming to her caddie, “Shy kids don’t get sweets.”
She tied for second last year and never contended this time around at Lancaster, finishing at 6 over. But she still stood out.
Hull, who said last year that she was unofficially diagnosed with ADHD, is one of the fittest players in the game. She said she rarely drinks, but smoking is common among family members and she started smoke to … quit smoking?
“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. I was a bit stressed last year and I just kind of vaped, and I wanted to stop vaping, and even though smoking is not better than vaping, it’s just you can vape indoors all the time. I thought if I smoke, I’m going to go outside and smoke a cigarette. When it’s a slow round on the golf course I smoke quite a few more than I should,” she explained.
“But listen, I will stop soon. It’s just when.”
It’s been “a bit of a wild week” for the 28-year-old Englishwoman. She even got hit on while at the course.
“Someone said I’ve dropped something and then handed their phone number on a piece of paper in my hand. He was like, Here’s my number. Text me so we can figure out where I’m taking you out for dinner tonight. I never texted him obviously, but it was just so funny,” she said.
And even though she tries to stay away from social media, Hull said her agent told her that her Instagram page had gained over 70,000 followers in a couple of days.
“Just one cigarette, it lit up,” Hull said.