Charley Hull has nightmare start at Olympics after worrying about 'no smoking' rule affecting her game

Charley 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 but I won't do this week. Yeah, just something I do. I don't think you're allowed. Yeah, I think it will [affect me]. Because it relaxes me a little bit. But it is what it is."

Hull further said:

"I'm pretty chill on the golf course. I just think about other stuff. It's just another week. Obviously it's the Olympics so you just have to keep your cool and when you get off the golf course, enjoy the atmosphere."

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.

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A look at Charley Hull's performance in 2024

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:

• Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions: T7 (74-66-70-71, 281, -7)
• Honda LPGA Thailand: T54 (75-69-69-71, 284, -4)
• FIR HILLS SERI PAK Championship: T10 (70-69-68-72, 279, -5)
• Ford Championship pres. by KCC: Withdrawn (72, E)
• The Chevron Championship: T23 (74-71-70-72, 287, -1)
• JM Eagle LA Championship pres. by Plastpro: T13 (71-70-71-70, 282, -2)
• Mizuho Americas Open: T34 (70-70-75-69, 284, -4)
• U.S. Women's Open pres. by Ally: T19 (75-72-72-67, 286, +6)
• KPMG Women's PGA Championship: T16 (70-73-72-74, 289, +1)
• The Amundi Evian Championship: Missed Cut (79-69, 148, +6)