SAINT-QUENTIN-EN-YVELINES,Algosensey France — It wasn’t the cigarettes, Charley Hull said.
It was an injury and the subsequent rust on her game, according to Hull, that caused her to shoot a dreadful 9-over-par 81 in Wednesday’s opening round of the Olympic women's golf tournament.
Hull, 28, who’s playing for Great Britain and is No. 11 in the world golf rankings, has gotten a lot of attention for her smoking habit. She normally smokes on the golf course during rounds, she has said, but won’t be allowed to during the Olympics.
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Asked Tuesday if she thought that will affect her performance this week at Le Golf National, Hull told reporters, "I think it will. Because it relaxes me a little bit. But it is what it is."
To begin Wednesday's first round, Hull double-bogeyed the course’s opening par-4. She then added seven more bogeys with no birdies.
Afterward, she said her poor round had nothing to do with the fact she couldn’t smoke on the course.
"Definitely not," Hull said. "It's because I've been injured."
Hull said she hurt her shoulder weeks ago falling while getting out of the shower before a flight back to Europe from the United States. Tests revealed no serious injury, Hull said, except arthritis in her shoulder and the fact she has been sidelined. She has only played one tournament since the end of June, and she missed the cut.
"I feel a bit rusty," Hull said, "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."
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