What constitutes a sport? Critics of golf, during this ongoing debate in pubs, argue that if you can smoke while playing, it shouldn’t qualify. As it happens, golfers are prohibited from smoking at the Olympics—just ask Charley Hull.
Images of Hull with a cigarette hanging from her lips went viral during this year’s US Open, evoking nostalgia for elite golfers of the past. Hull performed admirably in the tournament, securing a spot in the top 20.
Hull will be back in the limelight starting Wednesday at Le Golf National as the women’s Olympic golf event kicks off. There will be no recurrence of the ‘ciggie-gate’ incident as she dons the Team GB colors.
“I do smoke on the course,” Hull mentioned on Tuesday. “It’s a habit, but I won’t this week. It’s just something I do.”
When asked why she wouldn’t indulge in her habit near Versailles, Hull replied: “I don’t think you’re allowed.”
Hull is right. Organizers for Paris 2024 have made it clear that all Olympic venues will be smoke-free. In this scenario, Hull is treated just like any spectator outside the ropes. However, she doesn’t seem entirely happy with the restriction. “I think it will,” she said when questioned if the ban will impact her performance. “Because it relaxes me a little bit. But it is what it is.”
The 28-year-old seems equally uninfluenced by the uproar that ensued from the US Open. “I don’t actually go on Instagram,” she stated. “I haven’t used it in about four or five months. I don’t engage in social media at all. I just let my agent handle that.”
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Georgia Hall will also compete under the Team GB banner. Meanwhile, Nelly Korda from the United States, who clinched gold in Tokyo, is the favorite to win the event.
