Team GB's Charley Hull got her Olympic golf gold medal bid off to the worst possible start after admitting pre-tournament that a ban on smoking may hinder her chances.
The 28-year-old hit her first tee shot in round one into the water at Le Golf National on Wednesday morning as she began her bid to improve on her seventh-place finish at Rio 2016.
Things did not improve for the Brit after her nightmare start as she fell to the bottom of the leaderboard through 13 holes on a mammoth score of eight over par.
Hull has gone viral for her habit of smoking on the golf course, which she insists helps to manage her nerves after being diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder last year.
But the world No 11 is not permitted to indulge in the activity at the Paris Games and she admitted that it could hamper her pursuit of a medal this time around.
"Yeah, I do smoke on the course, it’s just something I do." She said after her practice round on Tuesday. "It’s a habit but I won’t do it this week.
"I think it will [affect my chances]. Because it relaxes me a little bit. But it is what it is."
United States’ Nelly Korda is the favourite for the gold medal but she also endured a slow start to the 72-hole event and sat tied at two over par with the Brit through her first four holes.
Team GB is hoping for further success in golf after Tommy Fleetwood secured a silver medal in the men's individual earlier this week.
Hull, who pulled out of the pandemic-delayed Olympics in 2021, is not the only British golfer bidding for success in Paris. She takes part in the competition alongside close friend and fellow British star, Georgia Hall.
She admitted that the bubble restrictions of the Tokyo Games ultimately forced her decision but insisted she had no regrets and claimed the absence has made the return in Paris even sweeter.
"It was the right thing to do at the time, but it makes me even more excited for Paris as Rio was such a long time ago," she tells Mail Sport, speaking on behalf of Rizz.
The two-time winner on the LPGA will tee it up at former Ryder Cup course, Le Golf National on August 7 to 10.
Hull is playing alongside her best mate Georgia Hall, who will begin her first round on Wednesday afternoon.
On playing alongside Hall, who is making her Olympic debut, she said: "We have known each other since we were 11 and grew up practicing together. It’s perfect to get to play with my best mate."
The childhood pals have proven to be a formidable pairing in the past helping Europe crush the American Dream at the past three Solheim Cups.
Most recently, they teamed up at the Dow Championship, something which they claimed was a 'no-brainer.'
Charley Hull's Disastrous Round
Charley Hull hooked her opening tee shot into the water en route to a disastrous opening round of 9-over 81 at the Women's Olympic Golf Tournament in Paris.
Team GB's Hull, 28, admitted on the eve of the Women's Olympic Golf Competition that a smoking ban at Le Golf National would more than likely cost her a chance of finding herself on the podium on Saturday afternoon.
Hull confirmed smoking cigarettes on the golf course helps her to relax in between shots.
The World No.11 hooked her tee shot into the water down the par-4 1st and it led to an early double-bogey six.
She calmed things down with four pars in a row but then made six bogeys in the space of eight holes from the 6th.
Another bogey followed on the penultimate hole and it all added up to a dismal 9-over 81.
At the time of publication, Hull is third last in solo 58th and miles off the early pace.
Home favourite Celine Boutier has surged to the front.
The Smoking Ban and Hull's Struggles
Hull is currently competing in the women's golf competition at the 2024 Paris Olympics. The event is being held at Le Golf National in Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, France from August 7 to 10.
Hull and Georgia Hall are representing Great Britain at the 2024 Olympics. Hull had a disappointing first round, scoring a 9-over 81 over the first 18 holes.
The World No. 11 started with a double bogey on the first hole. Her woes didn't end there as she scored three more bogeys, on the 6th, 7th, and 9th holes, on the front nine. She started the back nine with two straight bogeys on the 10th and 11th holes. She then scored two more bogeys on the 13th and 17th holes.
Hulls is positioned 60th among 60 players. This is Hull's second appearance at the Olympics. She also represented her country at the 2016 Rio Olympics where she finished tied for seventh.
In the pre-Olympics press conference, Hull had spoken about the "no smoking" rule at the event. She said (via ASAP Sports):
"Yeah, I do smoke on the course. It’s a habit, something I do. But I won’t do it this week. I don’t think you’re allowed."
[Hull further said:
"Yeah, I think it will. Because it relaxes me a little bit. But it is what it is."](https://talksport.com/football/1999546/charley-hull-smoking-ban-olympic-medal-chance/)
Hull will need a complete turnaround and probably a score in the low 60s in the second round to remain in contention. Hull's fellow countrywoman Georgia Hall was tied on 36th after 11 holes with a score of 3-over 46.
At the time of writing, Celine Boutier of France was on top of the leaderboard with a score of -4 in 12 holes. Diksha Dagar of India and Lilia Vu of the USA are tied for second with -3 after 16 holes. Hull will tee off at 11:44 a.m. local time on Thursday, August 8 with Hannah Green of Australia and Rose Zhang of the USA.
The Injury Factor
Team GB medal hope Charley Hull revealed a bathroom fall earlier in the year - which caused her to pull out of the recent Aramco Team Series in London - ultimately played a part in her extremely disappointing opening round at Paris 2024.
Her issues began on the first hole with a double-bogey, and three bogeys in the space of four holes on the front nine increased the frustration for Hull.
Going on to explain exactly what her injury issue was and how it occurred, Hull explained the problem arose following a fall out of the shower.
She said: "I fell over when I was on the way back from America. The team and I then had to pull out of the Aramco and had a week-and-a-half off golf because I thought I tore something in there. So I had an MRI and then -- my hip was out, shouldn't have played Evian. So I took like a week and a half off."
Probed by a reporter over the specifics of the shower incident, Hull continued: "Fell over coming out of the shower before I was getting my flight, I thought I tore my thing -- nothing come up. I just have a bit of arthritis now in my shoulder."
After going on to say that she played 10 rounds of golf in six days recently during her rehabilitation period, the 28-year-old insisted she is now close to full strength again but still believes it will take a little bit more time before she is truly match sharp again.
"I feel a bit rusty because obviously it's been five weeks since I last played properly a four-day event," she said. "But I played ten rounds of golf in six days. And I practise every day from six in the morning till six in the evening, so I played a lot of golf.
"When I obviously did have an injury, it knocks your confidence, not how I'm swinging it but more mentally. But I feel like a couple rounds under my belt, I'll be back."
"I was just saying to my agent, I'm so frustrated. I wish I didn't have a shower before my flight now."
"But I feel like -- I just feel like one round under my belt and then -- because I did actually have it going at Evian, after my first round, I was still a bit injured there, I was sore, but feel like now I've got one round under my belt, and tomorrow, go low."
Hull's 2024 Season
Charley Hull has had a decent 2024 season. From 10 starts this year, she has two top-10 finishes and six top-25 finishes. She is currently positioned 55th in the Race to CME Globe rankings.
Hull's best finishes of the season include a T7 finish at the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions and a T10 finish at the FIR HILLS SERI PAK Championship. Her other notable finishes include a T13 at JM Eagle LA Championship, a T16 at KPMG Women's PGA Championship, and a T19 at the US Women's Open.
Let's take a look at Charley Hull's performance in the 2024 LPGA Tournaments so far:
