British golfer Charley Hull got off to a poor start at the 2024 Olympics, but she isn’t using the smoking ban as an excuse.
The 28-year-old Hull — who has gone viral in recent months for lighting up cigarettes on the course in John Daly-esque fashion — shot a nine-over par 81 in the opening round of women’s play Wednesday at the Paris Games.
While she had previously said that she thought the course’s smoking ban might affect her, Hull was not using that as an excuse for her first-round struggles.
“Definitely not,” Hull said, as covered by USA Today. “It’s because I’ve been injured.”
Hull, who double-bogeyed on the first hole of her round and had seven other bogeys, suffered a recent shoulder injury as she fell while attempting to get out of the shower.
She said she’s been “rusty” and most recently played in the Amundi Evian Championship in early July, when she shot a six-over par in the first two rounds and missed the cut.
“I feel a bit rusty,” Hull continued, “because obviously, it’s been five weeks since I’ve last played properly a four-day event. Hopefully, I’ve got the rust off me and I’m looking forward to hopefully shoot (expletive) 9 under tomorrow.”
Earlier this week, Hull had been asked if the smoking ban on the Olympics course might impact her game.
“I think it will. Because it relaxes me a little bit,” Hull told reporters. “But it is what it is.”
France’s Céline Boutier currently leads after shooting a seven-under.