"Everyone smokes in England" - When Charley Hull spoke about going viral for smoking instead of her performance

Last year, Charley Hull appeared on The Dan Le Batard Show and talked about the 'smoking moment', that made her a viral sensation. In 2024, she gained considerable traction after her dominating performance in The Annika as well as her title win in 2024 Aramco Team Series.

The LPGA Tour professional from England is also popular on social media due to her strict fitness routine. However, in 2024, Hull was gaining attention for something else. During the practice rounds at last year's women's U.S. Open, Charley Hull was spotted signing autographs with a cigarette in her mouth. Hull's moment with the lit cigarette went viral as media outlets circulated photos of this moment.

Following this, Hull gained some followers on social media. It's also worth noting that the viral moment also put Hull under a lot of fire, as netizens often criticised her for smoking. While talking in the podcast, Charley Hull explained about her environment which led to this habit (Around 0:11):

"I can think of a lot of better places to smoke a cigarette, including the U.S. Open. I'm from England, so everyone smokes in England. Probably on the golf course in casual games, but not in the U.S. Open. But it was pretty mad, really, how it all kind of took off."

Then, the 29-year old golfer further went on to explain how the viral photograph came into reality. Charley Hull said:

"I was just minding my own business, signing a few autographs. I was walking from the clubhouse to the range, and I had my hands full, and I thought, I'll smoke my last cigarette. And smoking it, and then someone asked me for an autograph, and I'd never turned down an autograph."

"So I was just literally doing that, and then someone took a picture of me. So there you go."

Take a look at the full clip of Charley Hull talking in the podcast here:

Due to her viral moment, Hull gained comparisons with golf veteran John Daly as well. Despite the boost she gained due to the smoking picture, the LPGA Tour professional has openly admited about despising the habit.

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Charley Hull took up a hard challenge to battle her smoking addiction

Apart from the 2024 U.S. Open, Hull kept smoking throughout the year in different tournaments. This year, fans could spot her engaging in a smoke during the HSBC Women’s World Championship.

However, in March 2025, Charley Hull took a big step towards quitting this habit. Despite leaning on towards popular coping methods like vaping, Hull took a drastic step by making a $13,000 bet with fellow golfer Ryan Evans.

According to Hull's promise, she will be paying the aforesaid amount to Evans if she smokes a cigarette within the next two months. In a video shared by Charley, she could be seen handing over her cigarettes to Evan.

This showcases Hull's strong mentality and the inner urge to quit such a habit. Charley Hull once admitted that her father smokes 40 cigarettes a day, and her 25-year old nephew smokes as well. Despite the habit of smoking in her family, Hull has made considerable improvement. She also maintains a gym training regime and never aims to miss her 5k runs in the morning.