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Robert Lee looks forward to Charley Hull building on her historic year

Charley Hull of England tees off the 16th hole during round two of the Airbus LPGA Classic presented by JTBC at the Crossings Course
Image: Charley Hull needs to pit herself against the world's best next year

Robert Lee looks back on a phenomenal achievement for Charley Hull and welcome wins for Grace and Westwood

Last weekend may have had a distinct 'end-of-season' feel about it, but that did not detract from some great golf on offer on Sky Sports 4.

It was a long haul in the studio for myself as we presented live coverage from Thailand, Dubai and South Africa and then threw in some Australian PGA highlights for good measure.

But we were treated to a slice of golfing history as the sensational Charley Hull became the youngest ever winner of the Ladies European Tour Order of Merit.

Shanshan Feng was the runaway winner of the season-ending Omega Dubai Ladies Masters, but Hull held her nerve to beat Gwladys Nocera to the money list title.

Charley Hull of England tees off the 16th hole during round two of the Airbus LPGA Classic presented by JTBC at the Crossings Course
Image: Charley Hull needs to pit herself against the world's best next year

Feng, the world No 5, is a terrific golfer but I find her a little stoic on the golf course. She shows little emotion and can be very one-paced. But that is her nature and it obviously works for her.

Charley Hull is the complete opposite. She always lets you know how she’s feeling and is great fun to watch. She had a horror show at the 12th in the third round in Dubai, where she eventually holed a 35-foot putt for a triple-bogey seven.

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But I wasn’t concerned for her because Gwladys still had to finish fourth at the very worst to deny Charley her place in history. Nocera never really looked like making the top four, and you have to admire the way Charley bounced back and steadied the ship.

Charley Hull she was fully aware of what she needed to do, and she got the job done very impressively
Rob Lee

I think she was fully aware of what she needed to do, and she got the job done very impressively.

Charley is now able to play in all the majors next season, and she needs to pit herself against the world’s best players more often. That’s what she’ll do over the next year.

And we have to remember she is only 18. It’s easy to say she should win more - she won only once last season - but she won the Order of Merit with a lot of consistent performances.

Progressing

How does Charley Hull compare with Lydia Ko? Well, it’s tough to say that one teenage sensation is better than the other because they are both still progressing in the game. They still have a few levels to go and then they need to sustain it.

It’s unfair to put Ko and Charley Hull head-to-head like that, but they are both phenomenal, both very young and unbelievable good players.

Branden Grace of South Africa is sprayed with champagne by Louis Oosthuizen of South Africa after securing victory in the Alfred Dunhill Championship
Image: Branden Grace celebrates victory with fellow South African Louis Oosthuizen at Leopard Creek

Over in South Africa we saw Branden Grace lead from start to finish at the Alfred Dunhill Championship, where he went birdie-crazy in opening with a 10-under 62 – a full three shots better than anyone else could manage.

He extended his lead to five at the halfway stage, but he had a huge wobble in the third round, shooting only a 72 as the rest of the field bunched up behind him. I thought he might get reeled in by the chasing pack on the final day after that.

But he didn’t, he actually played a very, very good last round on the toughest day of the week for scoring. The course had firmed up significantly, the breeze was up and the pins were difficult. Grace closed with a 68, and only one player went lower than that on the final day, so that shows you how tough it was.

Lesson for Lucas

I felt for Lucas Bjerregaard, who within striking distance of Grace until collapsing over the back nine – taking 50 blows coming home. It was a nightmare for the young Dane, but I was really impressed with his demeanour when the wheels had fallen off his wagon.

 Lucas Bjerregaard of Denmark reacts to a birdie on the 18th green during the third round of the Alfred Dunhill Championship
Image: Lucas Bjerregaard: One to watch in 2015

He didn’t lose his head, and he still has a big future ahead of him. Sunday’s back nine was just one of those things, bad bounce behind a tree, bad bounce into a water hazard – it couldn’t have gone any worse for him.

The only lesson he can learn from it is that, sometimes, these things just happen for no apparent reason.

Danny Willett followed up his win in Sun City with an excellent tie for fourth, maybe fatigue was a factor in his closing 76 but he’ll be disappointed with the way he finished.

The good thing for him was he kept it going the week before in a far bigger tournament with more money and ranking points. There might have been a sense of tiredness, and he may have pushed too hard in trying to catch up with Grace.

But he still finished fourth, that’s not the worst result in the world, and he’ll go into next year full of confidence.

Francesco Molinari will also be disappointed with his weekend because I felt the course really suited him. He’s a very good ball-striker and he got himself in the right place over the first two days. He didn’t have the weekend he wanted, but he’s still a work in progress and I suspect he will come back strongly after the Christmas break.

Wonderful Westwood

The Asian Tour also neared it's conclusion last weekend, and my tip Lee Westwood scored another fantastic win in Thailand. It’s remarkable how well he does in Thailand, Malaysia and anywhere the weather is hot and sticky – particularly at the end of the year.

Lee Westwood plays a shot during round three of the Thailand Golf Championship at Amata Spring Country Club
Image: Lee Westwood on his way to his second victory at Amata Spring in Thailand

He had won at Amata Spring before so he knows how to get round there, and it was vintage Westwood. He didn’t have the best of starts to the final round, but he came back and shot 67 which included seven birdies in 12 holes.

Lee was playing arguably his best golf of the year, and he now needs to sustain that form until the spring, when we’re getting into the WGCs and then the Masters. That’s where he wants to be hitting top form, but it was certainly a nice way for Lee and caddie Billy Foster to end 2014.

So on we go to next year, and there’s a couple of players I’ve been impressed with who I think can really motor on in 2015.

The first is Bjerregaard. Despite his poor finish at Leopard Creek, I still think Lucas will go well next year. He finished last season very strongly when he was under pressure to keep his card, and I like the way he swings it.

Another kid who impressed me last week was Andrew Johnson. He won the Challenge Tour last season and finished third in his first event with a full European Tour card. That was a strong performance from a very confident young man.

If you get through an entire Challenge Tour season and win, you can certainly play and I’ll be keeping a close eye on his progress. I don’t think he’s ever played at Leopard Creek before, so to finish third is outstanding.

He started well and kept himself right up there, and that’s impressive on a tough golf course.

That’s all from me for the year. I’ll be back in the Sky Sports studio when the European Tour returns on January 8 with the South African Open Championship.

We’ll have two sessions of live coverage as usual on Sky Sports 4 – your home of golf.

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