Charley Hull has responded to being asked whether she is about to withdraw from the Olympic Games after the Team GB star endured a tough first round at Le Golf National on Wednesday.
Charley Hull would have been one of the favourites to compete for a medal this week, with the world number 11 previously featuring at Rio eight years ago.
Unfortunately, she looks to have a mountain to climb if she is going to end up on the podium this week, with Hull opening with a nine over par round of 81 to sit 58th out of 60 players in the field.
Hull revealed after her round that she felt rusty after sitting out several weeks due to a shoulder injury. The 28-year-old did insist that she was not feeling any pain, but of course, it would be natural for her to want to be anywhere but the golf course when the round started to go wrong.
Charley Hull shares whether she plans to withdraw from Olympic golf event
Hull was then asked about being seen speaking to her team after, and whether she could decide to play no further part in the tournament by withdrawing, but the Solheim Cup star issued a defiant response.
“No, I’m playing,” she simply said.
Plenty to still play for
The Olympic organisers would have been dreaming of a French player leading at some stage during one of the golf tournaments, and they have got their wish with Celine Boutier producing a stunning round of seven under par to take a three shot lead.
Obviously, it is going to a monumental effort for Hull to claw back the 16 shots to the leader over the next three days, particularly if she is not at full sharpness. But there is currently a tie for third place, with four players tied on two under par.
If Hull can replicate what Boutier did in her second round, she will surely cut the gap to those medal places quite considerably, and suddenly, the tournament is alive once again.
Hull has the talent to fly through the field if she can get things to click.
Receive exclusive golf news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
