Drawing: Brooke Henderson

Posted on August 10, 2016 by Mark Winter / Chicane

Brooke Henderson

Current world number three, eighteen year-old Brooke Henderson became the youngest player to win the Women’s PGA golf championship in June this year when she beat fellow teenage sensation and top-ranked Lydia Ko in a sudden death play-off at Washington’s Sahalee Country Club. The ‘Canadian phenom’ as her local newspaper describes her, was 18 years, 9 months and 2 days, which makes her the second-youngest ever to win one of the LPGA’s five major tournaments, behind Lydia, who won the Evian Championship last year aged 18 years, 4 months and 20 days.

She played the British Open last week at the Woburn Golf Club, just outside London, where she signed this drawing for me.

Drawing: Na Yeon Choi

Posted on November 14, 2015 by Mark Winter / Chicane

na yeon choi

Continuing my sketches of South Korean outstanding women golfers is Na Yeon Choi.

The 28 year old is currently ranked 18th in the world and won the 2012 US Open – her first major championship. She was also runner up in the British Open the following year. She signed my sketch at this year’s event at Turnery in Scotland.

Drawing: So Yeon Ryu

Posted on November 13, 2015 by Mark Winter / Chicane

so yeon ryu

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.

Drawing: Stacy Lewis

Posted on September 3, 2015 by Mark Winter / Chicane

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.

Drawing: Inbee Park

Posted on August 5, 2015 by Mark Winter / Chicane

Inbee park

“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.

Drawing: Paula Creamer “The Pink Panther”

Posted on September 18, 2014 by Mark Winter / Chicane

American golfer Paula Creamer has won 12 tournaments, including 10 LPGA Tour events since her rookie year in 2005. That included the 2010 US Women’s Open.

Nicknamed ‘The Pink Panther’ due to her fondness for wearing pink, Pink Panther club covers and sometimes playing with pink balls, Paula has been as high as number 2 in the Women’s World Golf Rankings.

She recently competed in the final major the year – the Evian Championship at the Evian Resort Club in Evian-les-Banis, finishing seventh after a strong finish wit a bogey-free 66 in the final round. The former champion (2005) signed my sketch at the resort last week… in blue, not pink.

Oh yes, and the other thing, she travels with her dog, a Coton de Tulear called Studley.

Drawing: Tom Watson

Posted on July 30, 2014 by Mark Winter / Chicane

During the 1970s and 80s Tom Watson was one of the leading golfers in the world and he doesn’t play a bad game these days either. Pushing sixty and 26 years after his last major victory Tom led much of the 2009 Open Championship at Turnberry in Scotland but eventually lost in a four hole playoff to Stewart Clink.

I remember watching the last day glued to the TV, hoping he would win. He had a chance in regulation play with a par on the last hole, but missed an eight foot putt.

He is regarded as one of the greatest links players of all time, winning five Open Championships and three Senior British Open Championship titles. He’s also won the Masters twice and the US Open. In fact he was number on from 1978-1982, replacing Jack Nicklaus.

Tom was back in Britain this year playing both Open Championships, so I quickly did a sketch for signing and sent it to him at Royal Porthcrawl in Wales where he played the senior championship last week. He didn’t disappoint. What a nice guy.

Drawing: Padraig Harrington

Posted on July 18, 2014 by Mark Winter / Chicane

Irish golfer Padraig Harrington gave up accountancy to turn professional in 1995 after a successful amatuer career and quickly won his first tittle – the Peugeot Spanish Open – the following year.

In both 2003 and 2004 he was runner up in The Players’ Championship.

At the 2007 Open Championships Padraig became the first golfer from the Republic of Ireland to win the Title, defeating Sergio Garcia in a four hole playoff at the Carnoustie Golf Links. A year later, his defence of the the tittle at Royal Birkdale was in jeopardy due to an injured wrist, but he overcame a 2 shot deficit to Greg Norman to retain the famous Claret Jug.

The win moved him to third in the world rankings. Three weeks later he won his third major, The PGA Championship at the South Course of The Oakland Hills Country Club. Between 2001 and 2010 Padraig spent over 2300 weeks in the top ten of the Official World Golf Rnkkings. He has also represented Europe six times in the Ryder Cup, winning in 2002, 2004, 2006, and 2010. His best finish in the two remaining majors is a 4th in the US Open in 2012 and 5th twice (2002, 2008) in The Masters.

Padraig signed this sketch at last week’s Scottish Open at the Royal Aberdeen curse in the warm up to this week’s Open Championship at Royal Liverpool.

Drawing: Lydia Ko

Posted on July 14, 2014 by Mark Winter / Chicane

Seventeen year old New Zealand golfing sensation Lydia Ko played the Women’s British Open at Royal Birkdale (20 miles north of Liverpool) this week, ranked No 2 in the world.

She was the world’s top ranked amateur golfer for 130 weeks before turning professional in October 2013. Born in Seoul, South Korea, and raised in New Zealand, Lydia began playing golf as 5 year old, when her mother took her to a pro shop at the Pupuke Golf Club in Auckland. In April 2014 she was named one of TIME Magazines’s 100 most influential people.

Lydia signed my sketch on a practice day at the famous Merseyside Course.

Drawing: Sir Bob Charles

Posted on February 24, 2014 by Mark Winter / Chicane

Sir Bob Charles is a New Zealand sporting hero. His golfing achievements over five decades rank him as one of the most successful left handed players of all time.

He was the first ‘lefty’ to win a major, securing the British Open Championship title in 1963 after a 36 hole playoff with American Phil Rodgers. He is also the first player with a left handed swing elected into Golf’s Hall of Fame, although ironically Sir Bob is actually right handed, except “games requiring two hands”. He came close to winning more major titles with runner-up finishes in The open in 1968 and ’69, the PGA Championship in 1968 and third place in the US Open in 1964 and 1970.