The 2008 season went out with a bang amid the warm sunshine of Paarl and the South African Open was a fitting finish to what has been a fine year. We will look back on that year in a moment.

A new name had one hand on the second oldest trophy in the game only for it to slip at the last moment, but Northern Ireland's Gareth Maybin can look back with pride at his final round performance where he barely put a foot wrong.

Westwood: amazing record

At 28 years of age, he is a relative latecomer to the Tour, but having played the mini tours in America and the Hooters Tour for a spell, he has plenty of experience to make an impact in 2009.

He was refreshing, at last a player who plays without any delay and because of that, he has a natural flow to his swing and thinking process. Gareth is managed by the Dublin-based Horizon group who also look after fellow countryman, Graeme McDowell, so his career is in good hands. He may well win before long.

It was of course Richard Sterne's fortnight, and for a player who doesn't enjoy the game as much as your average professional golfer, his play at both Leopard Creek and Pearl Valley was all but faultless. His National Open title capped a fine season for him.

Looking back over the last twelve months, there has been much to remember. Moments that gave us joy, some that didn't, some things to ponder over and plenty of talking points.

Easy Ryder

In this column, we had the major talking points of Monty at the London Club and Nick Faldo's selection of Ian Poulter and Paul Casey as his Ryder Cup wild cards. These subjects sparked a lively discussion and once again, I thank you for your participation.

Colin and I have chatted since that Friday in Kent and one thing that wasn't so widely reported was that Colin wrote to the offended sound man immediately after the European Open as well as making a public apology. As I said at the time, that is the right thing to do because then we can all move on, and we have. Now Colin has settled into his new life, I think he has a few big performances left in him. Next year will be better than this one.

Ian Poulter and I are as we were before the "Poult from the blue" column. I still don't think Ian fully deserved his place, but where would we have been without him? Padraig Harrington was always going to win the Golfer of the Year award, but Ian's performance at Valhalla deserves recognition, his play was heart-lifting and he proved to so many that he was more than capable. Without Ian's classy performances over the three days at Valhalla, Faldo's team would have been hammered, not just beaten.

Sorry for Nick

Whereas many jumped on Faldo for his selections over the three days, I was not one of them. We all like to play Ryder Cup captain when it comes along and we all have different ideas. Europe lost to an inspired American team who delivered some wonderful golf and they more than deserved their victory. Paul Azinger set out to do a job and he succeeded in every department.

I did however feel sorry for Nick. Here was our greatest golfer taking a fine team across the Pond. With his fabulous career behind him and now into successful career number two in television, this was just one of the many accolades and honours Nick will rightfully receive in the years ahead.

Unfortunately, many will remember his speeches, which to put it mildly were sad. Halfway through the opening ceremony there were some peers of Nick who had their heads in their hands as he went on about his families, completely missing the point of why he was up there in the first place. He did however give the captaincy everything he had, and that is all one can ask.

Amazing record

One mystery this year must surely be the fact Lee Westwood did not feature in the winner's circle. Throughout the season, Lee has been in contention just about every time he has teed the ball up, yet having been a serial winner early on in his career he failed to find the winning formula.

A total of 15 top tens in 15 months is an amazing record given the overall standard of golfers today. He will turn some of these close finishes into wins next year, because he has the class and more important than that, the patience. If his short game had been half as good as his long game this year, Lee would have had a "Tiger" season.

His stats last week after three rounds were as good as I have seen from any player, top in greens in regulation, top in fairways hit and in the top eight in driving distance. Westwood will unlock the secret and now in his mid-thirties, he has plenty of time to deliver. The best of Lee may be yet to come.

I have enjoyed the arrival of young Irishman, Rory McIlroy. He is the best talent I have witnessed since Sergio Garcia burst onto the scene at Medinah in 1999.

His golf swing is technically sound, he has an old head on young shoulders and his manners are impeccable. This lad is a credit to Ireland and the European Tour. In Rory, I see greatness and my feeling is that, having lost a couple of play-offs this year, his first win will come in the very near future. His first Masters was confirmed after a fine showing in South Africa.

Tiger trauma

The injury to the greatest player to have graced this game was at least a blow. How Tiger won the US Open given the severity of the injury will be a mystery to many for years to come.

The game missed his wonderful talent and his undoubted presence, with the PGA Tour the biggest losers. The viewing figures dropped alarmingly as did the interest, and that coupled with the fiasco of the Fed-Ex Cup, it was a poor season stateside.

My wish is that Tiger comes back stronger than ever and plays the type of golf that has thrilled us all over the past decade. We are very fortunate to have him at the head of our sport. He is all but the perfect role model for the next generation.

Another wish would be to see my pal from Pedrena back to good health. Seve has been in our hearts since he lit up our Tour in the mid-seventies. He, more than anyone else, took the Tour to another level with his charm, charisma and panache. He is still the greatest shot maker I have seen, as well as a true friend. When we heard of his plight, the golfing world stopped for a moment and all of your messages through this column will reach Seve when he is well enough to receive them. On Christmas Day, I will say a prayer for him, and I suspect I will not be the only one.

Blame game

Robert Karlsson came of age and if he can take the same form into 2009, there will be more golden days ahead for the likeable Swede. Darren Clarke has featured much in the pages over the year and for Darren it was a nearly season. The upside side of it, is by finishing in the top 15 of what was the order of merit, he returns to three of the four majors and plays again in the WGC events.

The downside was that he did not play well enough to make Nick's team in Kentucky and he is still outside the world's top 50. A 66 in the last round on Sunday would have done it, which goes to show just how small the margin is between success and failure. As a coach, I share the blame for his inconsistency and that is something we have to address when the festive season comes to an end.

He is not far away from his best and the first three months of the year is vitally important to him. The plus is he wants it, and believe me, he works harder than many would think. Its been a privilege to stand by him on the various ranges across the Globe and watch his talent at close quarters, now he is back on familiar territory, 2009 should be better.

I could not let this final column pass by without a few words on Padraig Harrington. In August at Oakland Hills, Padraig joined the legends of the game capturing his third major in just over a year.

Harrington is a credit to the game, his country, the European Tour and to his family. His success has been the product of hard work and dedication and with the backing of his close knit family, he has excelled as a golfer and a gentleman. If anyone deserves an elevated status in the game, it's "Harry".

Sabbatical

I have really enjoyed your participation over the last few years on skysports.com This column was always about opinion and I hope you continue to voice them during the next season. For now, I am going to take a sabbatical as next year sees Sky Sports cover for the first time, events like the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth, the Scottish Open at Loch Lomond and the British Masters. They are added to the world tour we already have and they will compliment our extensive coverage of majors and world golf championships. We have increased our coverage for 2009 so it's going to be a busy one, especially when the "Race to Dubai" gathers momentum.

Les Calderwood, an avid reader of this column popped into the commentary box at Pearl Valley and left a bottle of Durbanhills Pinotage, harvested in his home town. Sadly, I was not there to meet and greet him, but Les I can tell you, after the final round, the Colonel and I sat down by the hotel poolside and as the sun tired with the year behind us, we drank a toast to you. It was a kind thought, our thanks.

Thanks to all of you for your thoughts and comments and I can promise you, I read every one of them. My sincere best wishes for the festive season and beyond. Enjoy the golf we bring you and may your fairways be wide, with the hole the size of a bucket.

Yours Aye, Ewen.

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