Colin Montgomerie admitted to being almost overwhelmed by his emotions - but denied shedding a tear when the winning putt was holed.
Scot reflects on a day of European glory
Colin Montgomerie admitted to being almost overwhelmed by his emotions after Europe's Ryder Cup victory - but denied shedding a tear when the winning putt was holed.
Speaking a day after his European team regained the Ryder Cup at Celtic Manor, the Scot said: "I really got quite emotional in the locker room afterwards when I started reading my closing remarks ahead of the closing ceremony.
"I couldn't get them out in a practice I had in a quiet moment.
"I was going to find it very difficult to stand up in front of all those people and a television audience to get those words out. I thought I was going to find that more difficult than actually I did.
"Down in the team room we had a few presentations. There was a flag presented to me by the five vice-captains (Darren Clarke, Paul McGinley, Thomas Bjorn, Sergio Garcia and Jose Maria Olazabal). I wouldn't have been there making a winning speech if it wasn't for them.
Lady captain
"There was a lovely presentation to Gaynor (Montgomerie's wife) of all the clothes that were laid out and signed by the girls, which she really appreciated.
"She played the role perfectly as lady captain, a very understated role and a very important one at the same time."
And as for those who thought Montgomerie had been reduced to tears by Graeme McDowell's match-clinching heroics on the 17th green, they were wrong.
"Champagne was sprayed on the 17th green and some of it went straight in my eyes," he said. "I couldn't see for about two minutes, which was a bit worrying because it got a bit of a bun-fight on 17.
"People thought I was crying. I wasn't, actually, I was trying to get the champagne out of my eyes. It stung."
