Marc Leishman and the Woods family feature in our five talking points from the week

Our five talking points from the last week in golf feature an emotional victory for Marc Leishman, the battle for the Rookie of the Year, and contrasting fortunes for the Woods family.

Happy ending for Leishman

Nobody, not even runner-up Henrik Stenson, could possibly begrudge Marc Leishman his victory at the Nedbank Golf Challenge in South Africa.

Leishman clearly found the Gary Player Country Club to his liking as weekend rounds of 66 and 67 propelled him to a six-shot victory over the misfiring Swede.

Wind the clock back to April, and the Australian was preparing for the Masters when he made a abrupt departure from Augusta when his wife, Audrey, was struck down with a serious bacterial infection which brought on toxic shock syndrome. She was fighting for her life and had been given just a five per cent chance of pulling through.

Leishman was forced to consider the prospect of having to retire from golf to care for the couple's two children but, thankfully, Audrey fought off the illness and was able to make a full recovery.

After supporting his wife through the the initial stages of her rehabilitation, Leishman resumed his career and almost pulled off a stunning upset at The Open, although he lost out to Zach Johnson in a play-off at St Andrews.

But Leishman, who also lost an uncle this year, was able to end the year on a high with his maiden European Tour triumph, which he admitted would pay for the new house his family have recently moved into. It's doubtful if there has been a more deserving winner in 2015.

Speed it up

The R&A recently held in-depth discussions on measures to rid the professional game of the curse of slow play, but the publicity generated from the meetings was clearly lost on Stenson in Sun City.

The Swede is by no means the only offender, but a high-profile player in contention at a European Tour event is guaranteed plenty of air time on live television and should be setting a better example.

Stenson also came under fire for his petulant outburst on the final hole of his third round, when he drove into a fairway bunker for the second day running and complained bitterly that his poor lie in the sand was caused by the bunker not being raked properly.

Rather than throw his toys out of the bag, he threw his entire bag after being forced to lay-up having reached the green from the same trap 24 hours earlier.

The former European No 1 is now heading back to Florida for knee surgery and hopes to return to action in Abu Dhabi at the end of January, and he'd be advised to use the break to consider what effects his actions will have on the young generation of golf fans.

Rookie of the Year

Byeong Hun An landed the first big accolade of awards season on the European Tour when he was named Rookie of the Year ahead of fellow youngster Matt Fitzpatrick.

It was an extremely close call between the two although, in fairness, the South Korean had marginally the better statistics over the course of the 2015 campaign.

An won the flagship BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth, Fitzpatrick countered with the British Masters title. An missed only three cuts in 26 starts, Fitzpatrick cashed in 21 of his 32 appearances.

Fitzpatrick enjoyed 10 top-10 finishes to An's seven, but An finished the season ranked seventh in the Race to Dubai as Fitzpatrick came in 12th, and there was virtually nothing between them in the stroke averages.

The award possibly came down to a coin flip, but would it not have been appropriate to have declared a dead-heat and rewarded both young talents for their remarkable maiden seasons on Tour?

Tiger reconciled to retirement

The golfing world is now contemplating life without the game's biggest drawcard after Tiger Woods admitted he had no idea when, or if, he would be able to return to action following back surgery.

In a series of open and honest interviews, Woods revealed he was "reconciled" to the possibility of having to retire, while he also vowed to quit the game rather than go under the surgeon's knife for an eighth time in as many years.

To be clear, Woods clearly remains determined to play again and claw his way back to the top of the sport, and his desire cannot be questioned. But it was also abundantly evident that his patience was being tested to the limit as he has yet to begin his rehabilitation from his latest back procedure at the end of October.

Woods turns 40 at the end of the month and will surely struggle to compete with the new generation of players currently dominating golf, even if he can get himself fit enough to play again.

But if he is forced to put his children first and call an end his glittering career, he will leave a void that arguably cannot be filled in the immediate future.

Joy for the other Woods

With ample spare time on his hands, Tiger was able to keep up with proceedings at the LPGA Qualifying School and be one of the first to congratulate his niece, Cheyenne, on earning her card for next year.

The 25-year-old struggled during her maiden season on the LPGA Tour, missing the cut in nine of her 17 appearances and finishing a lowly 125th on the money list.

But she was able to regroup and come through the daunting Q-School for the second year running, and a tie for 13th was comfortably enough to secure her card for 2016.

Living up to comparisons with her uncle is always going to be tough on Cheyenne, but it appears the fighting spirit and sheer will to succeed in the family is not just restricted to the 14-time major champion.

Watch the Thailand Golf Championship and the Dubai Ladies Masters, live coverage starts Thursday on Sky Sports 4 - your home of golf.