Why has Charley Hull gone viral during the US Women’s Open Championship?
The English golfer was trending on X recently while playing in the oldest of the LPGA Tour’s five major championships.
Leaving aside the competition itself and the Japanese Yuka Saso’s victory, the US Open women’s main focus has been on Charley Hull.
The 28-year-old English player, with six wins as a professional and six Solheim Cup editions played, has attracted great attention from the media and fans. The reason is that a picture where the world. No. 8 appeared with a cigarette in her mouth while signing autographs went viral ahead of the season’s second major. Hull was even seen smoking during the tournament, and her fame increased even more: 75,000 new users followed her on Instagram over the last two days, and she’s close to half a million fans.
Oddly enough, the USGA regulations don’t have any specific rule on smoking, and the LPGA Tour’s list of prohibited items doesn’t mention cigarettes either, so Charley won’t be sanctioned. However, she won’t be able to smoke in the next major, the PGA Championship, because the PGA of America doesn’t allow it. Amid the controversy, journalist Zephyr Melton reported that the reason why Hull was smoking was that she was trying to stop vaping, which reminded John Daly’s style at its finest.
What did Charley Hull say about smoking in the US Open?
Charley admitted she often smokes cigarettes once the US Open ended, where she finished in a tie for 19th.
“I actually do go to the gym and I’m a very healthy person, I only smoke. I hardly drink. I don’t need to drink because, actually, I can have a fun time without it. 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. 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. But I will quit it soon,” one of the most special personalities on the tour said.
“Literally, all my friends always say I should have a TV show with what goes on in my life. You should see what my life is like at home. I don’t know what’s coming out of my mouth next. It’s one of the things. I’m not going to change for the world”, she added.
The English golfer, aware of how viral her smoking episode went -even Nelly Korda was seen watching the image of Hull on her phone-, took it lightly.
“It’s quite funny. I don’t know, all over a cigarette, I suppose. But I genuinely was walking to the range, had my hands full, and someone asked me for an autograph, I’m not going to say no because I always like signing autographs. I had a cigarette in my mouth, signed it, and then it’s gone viral. The fans have been shouting my name this week. It’s been a bit of a wild week, pretty cool and I wish the crowds were like this more often,” Charley said before revealing an anecdote she experienced in the Lancaster countryside.
“Someone said I dropped something and then handed their phone number on a piece of paper in my hand... “It said ‘Here’s my number, text me so we can figure out where I’m taking you out for dinner tonight.’ “I never texted back obviously”, the star of the week said while laughing.