English golfer Charley Hull is facing a backlash over a prank on her caddie, but she says critics can "lump it." Ahead of the AIG Women's Open, the 30-year-old told reporters she'd fooled longtime caddie Adam Woodward with a gag lottery ticket that appeared to be worth 100,000 pounds, around $135,000, prompting him to celebrate in the players' lounge before learning it was fake, the CBC reports. Hull, a three-time LPGA winner, shared the story with a laugh and posted video on X, but many users called the prank cruel, pointing to the income gap between star and caddie and urging Woodward to find a new job. Others defended it as an inside joke between coworkers.
After scratching the card she bought from a joke shop, Woodward was "literally running around the players' lounge saying 'I've won 100,000 pounds, I'm taking today off,'" Hull told reporters. "His face looked so happy, he was sweating, he was trembling, he couldn't believe his luck. And then we had to tell him it was fake, and he nearly quit the job." On X, she wrote, "Sorry Adam, looks like you're still on the bag this week!" Hull, whose career earnings are around $12.9 million, is chasing her first major and a $1.5 million winner's share this week.
- She later addressed the backlash, saying Woodward found it funny because he's not "uptight" and "if people don't like it, they can lump it," Golfweek reports. "I've just got to have a good week and at the end of the week, I'll buy him 100 scratch cards," she added.
- Woodward said it was the first time his boss had pranked him. He said he thought it was funny, but he's looking forward to getting revenge. "I'm going to put a suggestion box at the front here, and any pranks of how I can get Charley back," he told reporters. "I figure maybe getting the keys to her car and taking off in it and selling it on the black market for 100,000 pounds. Then she can deal with it."
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