British star Charley Hull lights up the staid world of female golf

• Charley Hull, 28, has raked in a staggering fortune of £7 million
• The ninth best player in the woman’s sport has become an internet sensation
• She is said to be in a relationship with ex-Geordie Shore star Gary Beadle

She’s the British sportswoman who has been lighting up the golfing world with her stunning performances on the course.

But it’s Charley Hull’s rebellious streak and her ‘unapologetic glamour’ which is capturing a whole new global audience.

Charley had kept a relatively low profile outside the sporting world as she’s quietly working her way to becoming a golf superstar, soaring into the top 10 in the women’s game and amassing a fortune of £7million on the way.

Now she’s become an internet sensation after a video was posted on social media showing her signing autographs at the US Open – with a cigarette hanging out of her mouth.

In some quarters she was compared with former golf wild man John Daly – the chain-smoking maverick who won two major titles during his career.

While some amateur commentators accused her of being a poor role model others hailed Charley as a cult icon who is bringing a breath of fresh air to the game.

Charley, who is ranked ninth in the world and has twice finished runner-up in major championships, admitted nothing she had ever done on the golf course has received as much attention.

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She joked: ‘It was pretty crazy. It was just one cigarette – it lit up.’

Charley, 28, told how the episode led to her getting a whole new fan base with more than 500,000 fans now following her on Instagram.

After the video went viral she was cheered on round the Lancaster Country Club course in Pennsylvania by the usually partisan American crowd while one cheeky admirer even tried to set up a date with her.

Describing the furore she said: ‘I was walking to the range. I had my hands full, someone asked me for an autograph and I’m not going to say no because I always like signing autographs.

‘I just had the cigarette in my mouth, signed it and then it’s gone viral. I don’t know – it’s one of those things.’

Charley added of the aftermath: ‘It’s been crazy – fans have been shouting my name this week.

‘Someone said I’d dropped something and then handed their phone number on a piece of paper.

‘It was like ‘Here’s my number – text me so I can figure out where I’m taking you out for dinner tonight. I never texted him obviously but it was just so funny.

‘It’s been a bit of a wild week – pretty cool and I wish the crowds were like this more often.’

Fellow Brit golfer Mel Reid described spending time with Charley as ‘almost like taming a wild animal’.

She added: ‘She’s obviously a glamour girl – she loves the attention, she does. She loves it.’

That attention is giving a whole new army of fans an insight into the glamorous lifestyle of the charismatic blonde-haired sportswoman who is anything but a stereotypical golfer.

In 2019 she married mixed martial arts fighter Ozzie Smith after dating for two years but the couple have since split and she is now said to be in a relationship with Geordie Shore reality TV star Gaz Beadle, 36.

Judging by her social media presence Charley likes to make the most of her leisure time while jetting around the world on the professional golf circuit.

Her Instagram and Facebook accounts feature shots of her lounging by the pool and hanging out on the beach in colourful bikinis as well as dressing up for nights out in designer outfits in locations including Beverly Hills and Las Vegas.

Charley spoke of her love of fashion in a recent photoshoot for Sky Sports Editions, which showcases stories from women in sport.

She said: ‘I want to show how strong I am and I can be glamorous and unapologetic – that’s basically me.’

Charley was born in Kettering, Northants. Her maternal grandparents are Polish and settled there at the end of the war after her grandmother had escaped from a Russian Labour camp in Siberia.

She has two hal- sisters. Her mother Basienka, a former county tennis player now aged 70, and retired plasterer father Dave, 75, each had a child before marrying.

Charley first picked up a club aged just two hitting balls around in their back garden and by the age of five she was tagging along with her dad who played at the local club.

She became a golfing prodigy after winning the British Ladies National Championship aged just nine in 2005.

Charley was so small she needed a booster seat for the journey when she was driven to the Turnberry golf course in Scotland by Kettering Golf Club’s ladies captain.

At the age of 13 Charley left school to be home tutored enabling her to compete in amateur tournaments.

She made her debut in the British Open three years later after turning professional and won her first European Tour title aged just 17 in 2014.

Two years later she missed out on a bronze medal by two shots as she represented Team GB at the Rio Olympics when golf returned to the Games for the first time in 112 years.

She has three wins on the European tour and two on the LPGA in an America and finished runner up in the British Open and US Open last year.

While her parents now spend much of their time in Florida, Charley remains based in the UK and bought a large house with a swimming pool and tennis court in a village outside Kettering in 2018.

She’s even gone into business with a former golfing friend with whom she co-owns a roof repairing firm.

And while she appears to some to live a rock and roll lifestyle, Charley insists she’s sometimes just a bit chaotic.

She said: ‘All my friends always say I should have a TV show with what goes on with my life. You should see what my life is like at home.

‘You don’t know what’s coming out of my mouth next. I don’t know what’s coming out of my mouth next. It’s one of those things.

‘I’m just me. I’m not going to change for the world. I’ll just be me and people can either like it or lump it.’

Only last year she was diagnosed with severe ADHD and she insists that sticking to routines like regular gym sessions has helped her deal with the condition.

She said: ‘I kind of know my ways to cope with it now and I kind of just know my routines.

‘Sometimes I can be kind of cut-offish and stuff but it’s because I’m putting myself first and I know my triggers and how to cope.

‘Routine is a big thing – the gym. Being fit really helps me mentally.’

She added: ‘I suppose sometimes I’m a little bit rebellious – that’s the way it comes across but I just do me.’

Charley says she’s certainly not an ‘up all night kind of girl’ and insisted: ‘I like to be in bed by 10pm.’

And as for comparisons with John Daly, they’re way off the mark she says.

Charley said: ‘I find it quite funny because I actually do go to the gym and I’m a very healthy person. I only smoke – I hardly drink.’