Smoker/Smokeshow Golfer Charley Hull Adds to Her Growing Legend by Autographing a Fan's Cig
To become a truly legendary athlete, sometimes simply greatness is not enough. For instance, Scottie Scheffler is the unquestioned best golfer in the world. And yet I have friends who can't stand seeing him near the top of a leader board because they find him bland and his style of golf safe and predictable. Drives to the middle of the fairway. Green in reg. One or two putts. Onto the next hole without a change of expression. More of a golf automaton than anyone they can get behind. I strongly disagree. And love seeing him dominate. But I can see why his game would leave some people cold.
Sometimes the mark of a true legend of any game is to stand out from the pack. To be your own person. Differentiate yourself from the crowd. Be relatable. And give the people something no one else does. And right now on the LPGA, that is golfer, Instagram model and tobacco enthusiast Charley Hull. Who over the past month has drawn the attention of both Carl:
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… and now me. For providing us with this golden moment:
That's how you become the People's Champion. Ripping darts. Taking a Sharpie to people's cancer sticks. Being every bit the blue collar British chick you are. As someone told her, the Thorn to Georgia Hall's Rose:
And like she herself has pointed out, simple things like ripping darts will draw more attention than even carding a 67:
I suppose the obvious analogy is to compare her to John Daly. But until she can down vodka and Red Bull by the barrel, accumulates a bunch of ex-spouses, wears clothes that can be seen from the ISS and becomes the world's most celebrated Hooters frequent flyer, she'll never be him.
When I see Hull, I think of something the late, great Dan Jenkins wrote about the rivalry between Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer. For the longest time, the Greatest Generation resented Nicklaus because he was the fat-faced, rich kid newcomer who started taking Majors away from their favorite champion. Whereas Arnie was always hitching his pants up and chainsmoking butts. Meaning he gave off that Regular Guy energy you can't fake, but that endears you to the ordinary hackers.
Charley Hull will probably never struggle to pull her belt over her waist like Palmer. But she's inheriting his mantle. If nothing else, she's taking her place among the great female golf follows on the 'Gram. And since golf modeling is about 90% of the content my friends and I share with each other these days, that is an impressive achievement in and of itself:
The Tour victories will come. But Charley Hull is definitely winning at the sport of life.