Ryu So-Yeon is also known as So Yeon Ryu and is also known as one of the many, many top women’s golfers from South Korea dominating the LPGA at the moment.
Currently ranked 5th in the world, she won the US Open in 2011 and finished third at this year’s British Open at the Trump Turnberry Course in Scotland, where she signed my sketch for me.
As a proud but nomadic New Zealander living in the UK I couldn’t let this moment go by without some homage to our mighty All Blacks, winning the Rugby World Cup for the third time and the first team to retain the Webb Ellis Cup, beating our noisy neighbours Australia, 34-17 in the final at Twickenham on Saturday.
Since becoming the World Champions in Auckland in 2011, they have only had three loses in 53 matches, holding the Number 1 ranking for the past decade. The world’s media have labelled them the greatest rugby team of all time, some saying the greatest team in the history of sport. “Phenomenal doesn’t do them justice,” one scribe wrote.
Rightly so, they also picked up the Best Team trophy at the annual World Rugby Awards for the sixth successive with legendary playmaker Dan Carter winning Best Player after his mercurial Final and final performance, scoring 19 points with the boot, a fitting end to his unparalleled career.
I drew this image of the Cup with the All Blacks iconic silver fern, leaving space for the team – 31 of them – to hopefully sign… and hopefully the winning team. They arrived at the Tower of London for the official welcome to the tournament six weeks ago. Given the history of the venue, some thought the hosts may have had other ideas.
Knowing the chances of me obtaining the entire team at that event were less than minimal, I delivered it to the AB’s long-time manager Darren Shand, who had helped me in the past with previous requests and as sure as God made little green apples (and the All Blacks) he got the job done, like his team in the World Cup. I just had to mention that again.
A photo of All Black impact weapon Sonny Bill Williams consoling his opposite number Jesse Kriel and helping him to his feet after the New Zealanders nail biting 20-18 win over the Springboks in the World Rugby Cup semi-final thriller at Twickenham last weekend went global, adding a poignant perspective to sporting rivalries. It was reminiscent of another Kiwi show of sportsmanship this year, also in a World Cup semi-final and also against South Africa. Black Caps all-rounder Grant Elliot, who hit the winning runs was photographed consolling the Proteas quick Dale Steyn after the epic match.
Sonny Bill told Jesse that he had nothing but respect for him and that he had played well throughout the tournament and will be around for many more.After the game he said that the result could have gone either way and that could have been us. Fellow AB Liam Neeson tweeted in admiration, “Never look down on anybody unless you’re helping them.” It was not Sonny Bill’s only act of compassion. The first Muslim to play for the All Blacks offered his player tickets to Syrian refugees. While he may divide public opinion back in New Zealand, I’m sure all us kiwis both at home and abroad have nothing but admiration for him this week.
Not quite on the same humanitarian level, but equally appreciated by me was his signing and ‘best wishes’ dedication on this sketch, which AB manager Darren Shand organised for me. The original is drawn with my trusty 4B, which is a soft lead and prone to smudging. Sometimes when people are signing they indadvertedly do this, but generally leave it as part of the process. Sonny Bill’s right eye on the left image got the treatment, but who am i to argue with a champion boxer. I’m hoping the very hand used will produce a trademark offload against Austraila in this weekend’s Final and hold the Webb Ellis Cup as World Champions again. If not, I still have a great sporting trophy of my own.
Just watching a bit of Saturday morning sport. Tennis to be precise. Rafa’s playing Jo-Wilfrend Tsonga in the Shanghai Masters semi final. It continues the popular Spaniard’s resurgence after an indifferent year, returning from injury.
Rafa’s a great player and a great signer. I’ve never seen him refuse an autograph. I’ve already posted a couple of signed Rafa renderings and here’s another one – this more of a montage.
Currently ranked world number seven, he looks likely to return to the O2 in London next month for the World Tour Finals which includes the top eight players. Here’s hoping. It’s such a grew place to get a graph, and I’m expecting him be part of my tennis harvest again this year.
Described as the first lady of English-and world-cricket, Charlotte Edwards is considered the best in the business. England have played 481 matches since women’s internationals started in Brisbane in 1935, Lotte has played in 298 of them, 209 as captain spanning all three formats of the game.Making her debut as a sixteen year-old in 1995, she has scored more runs in limited-over internationals than anyone else and only one player, Janette Brittin has made more test runs. Last year she was named one of Wisden’s Cricketers of the Year, only the second woman to claim that honour and won the ICC Woman’s Player of the Year in 2008.
Having already claimed five Ashes series, Charlotte and her team found the Australians a lot tougher in 2015 and lost the series for the first time in twelve years. Despite having her hands full she was able to fit in a pen and time to sign my sketch during the four-day test at Kent’s Spitfire Ground last month.
Twenty six year old Polish tennis ace and former World Number 2 Agnieszka ‘Aga’ Radwanska has won fourteen career singles titles and reached the 2012 Wimbledon final. Prior to joining the WTA tour in 2006, she won both the Wimbledon and French junior titles. Her prowess on the court is matched off it, being voted WTA’s most popular player for four consecutive years (2011-2014), She was also listed as the ninth highest earning female athlete in the world according to American magazine Forbes in 2012.
As a practising Roman Catholic, Aga was part of the Polish Catholic campaign, “I’m not ashamed of Jesus!” and arranged her tennis balls so that they read out “Jezus”. After posing nude for the 2013 ESPN magazine’s The Body Issue she was disqualified from the campaign.
I missed getting Aga at Wimbledon this year, so sent this quick sketch of her to a fellow Californian-based autograph collector who specialises in sports sigs.
He caught up with Aga at the Bank of the West Classic in Stanford, in early August. She told him she really liked the sketch and was happy to sign and dedicate it.
Golf clubs to golfers are kind of like pens to graphers…reasonably essential. Former World Number 1 and two-time major winner, American golfer Stacy Lewis arrived in Scotland in July for this years British Women’s Open Championship minus her clubs. British Airways had misplaced them…then told her it would take 24 hours to find…then she and her caddie had to make the 300-plus mile trek to London to collect them….then they got a flat tyre. In all of this however the 30 year-old star of the LPGA and currently third in the rankings, still had the good-nature and more importantly a pen to sign this sketch for me.
The amiable Danish tennis player Caroline Wozniacki held the WTA number one ranking for 67 weeks, a position she held year end for two consecutive years in 2010 and 2011. She was the first Scandinavian woman to hold the top spot and the 20th overall. Caroline’s game is based on a strong defensive playing style described as a “counter puncher”.
Her two handed backhand is her key weapon, tuning defence into attack, a vital component in her 23 singles title victories. She has yet to win her first Grand Slam but has featured twice in the US Open final, most recently losing the 2014 decider to close friend Serena Williams. ‘Caro’ is currently 5th in the WTA rankings.
She also ran the New York City Marathon in November last year, in a time of 3:26:33, which was good enough to qualify for next year’s Boston Marathon, but said it will be a few years before she takes on another 26 mile and 385 yard event again. She’s also a huge fan of the English Premiere League team Liverpool FC.
While I’ve managed to collect Caroline’s graph in person I haven’t been able to get a sketch signed… until now. Mainly because on the occasions I’ve met her, I didn’t have a drawing to sign.
I sent a sketch to her at the Eastbourne Tournament in June, where she reached the semis, but nothing came back. But the time I made it to Wimbledon a couple of weeks later, she had lost her fourth round match, so I missed out again. Another sig-stalker in the US stepped in to assist, getting this signed for me at the Bank of the West Classic in Stanford, California this month.
Ever popular, she attracted a large group of admirers, so he couldn’t get a dedication, but I was pleased with the result.
“The greatest day of my life,” is how world number one golfer Inbee Park described her win in the Women’s British Open at the Turnberry Golf Course in Scotland last Sunday. The 27 year-old Korean equalled the course record with a seven-under-par 65 in the final round to finish 12 under. winning by three strokes over compatriot Jin-Young Ko. “The golf god was on my side,” she said, claiming her seventh major title. She is well on her way to becoming one of the all-time greats with her sixth victory out of the last 14 majors and is the second youngest to complete the career ‘Grand Slam’, behind Tiger Woods.
Inbee signed, dedicated and returned this sketch for me after I sent it to Turnberry.
New Zealand’s inspirational Brendon McCullum is considered cricket’s best captain at the moment by the world’s media. Even the Australians have acknowledged that his positive, aggressive approach and risk-taking has “put soul back into cricket”, which is the reason that the Black Caps have emerged as the most improved side in all three forms of the game, including reaching their first final at the recent World Cup. The UK’s top cricket scribe, Mike Selvey called him “exceptional” in The Guardian. Always humble, Brendon shies away from all the plaudits that separates him from his teammates. In a recent interview with the New Zealand Herald he was quick to point out that leadership was a team effort. ‘It’s really important to lead by example in a team environment”. he said. And lead by example he does… in bucket loads! His phenomenal batting and fielding are second to none. In fact the Asian media have labelled him the ‘best batsman in the international game at the moment”. The ‘New Zealander of the Year’, finished 2014 with a triple century and two double centuries. He shared a record sixth wicket 352 run partnership against India with B.J. Watling at Wellington’s Basin Reserve last February, becoming the first kiwi to join the elite 300 group. He finished on 302 to record the highest third innings total in the history of the game. He has the top International Twenty20 score with123 against Bangladesh in 2012 and the second highest T20 total of 158, which he’s achieved twice. In 2008 playing for the Kolkata Knight Riders in the Indian Premier League against the Royal Challengers and more recently for the Birmingham Bears in the T20Blast against Derbyshire last month. His 158 came off only 64 balls!…and is, not surprisingly, the highest score in the English and Welsh domestic competition.
Brendon had a short spell with the Bears after the Black Caps summer tour of the UK. He signed this sketch at his final game against the Yorkshire Vikings at Headingly in Leeds on 24 July 2015.
ChicanePictures 