Colin Montgomerie looked out of place only once Sunday at the Ryder Cup. During the closing ceremonies, he walked self-consciously onto the stage without a female companion.

To the millions watching back at home in Europe, it was a poignant reminder of Montgomerie's personal difficulties during a recently concluded divorce case.

To Europe captain Bernhard Langer, the home-alone moment illustrated Montgomerie's ability to put his personal difficulties aside to lead a team that rarely is favored yet is 6-3-1 in the last 10 Ryder Cups.

``There was a short time when obviously he went through some personal difficulties, when I wondered how it would affect his golf game,'' Langer said. ``It would almost be unhuman if it wouldn't affect you. But he handled it extremely well.''

One of Europe's most reliable Ryder Cup players ever, Montgomerie, 41, delivered again to finish off an 181/2-91/2 European romp on American soil that arguably was its strongest performance in the series' 77-year history.

Montgomerie remained unbeaten (5-0-2) in singles, beating David Toms 1-up to assure Europe's victory. He also improved his overall Ryder Cup record to 19-8-5 by going 3-1 at Oakland Hills, an exceptional accomplishment for a golfer who has never won a major championship or any PGA tournament in the United States.

During a post-match news conference, teammate Thomas Levet introduced Montgomerie as ``Mr. Ryder Cup, the mean machine, don't play him in singles, you lost already.''

Montgomerie became teary-eyed while thanking his teammates for helping him through a trying time in which he has appeared on the gossip pages more than the sports pages. He has only two top-3 finishes in 21 PGA European Tour tournaments.

``They enabled me to get onto what I do best in life, and that's play golf,'' Montgomerie said.

His teammates responded with a standing ovation, matching the one he received from the thousands of European fans who crowded the 18th green to watch him sink the 4-foot par putt that defeated Toms.

It was a remarkable turnaround from five years ago, when he was jeered, cursed at and ridiculed by a sometimes obnoxiously pro-American Ryder Cup crowd at Brookline. It's hard to imagine Montgomerie jumping into the crowd at Brookline, posing for pictures and shaking hands, but that's exactly what he did at Oakland Hills.

``I think it was not just myself that was received warmly, I think all of our team were,'' Montgomerie said. ``I think from the first day we arrived here, Bernhard's decision to allow us to sign autographs and be open with the crowd worked in our favor, and not just for myself.''

The crowd didn't exactly root for Montgomerie but, unlike Brookline, it didn't root against him. Some fans found the unassuming Europeans a more likable bunch than the more uptight Americans, whose post-match news conference was formal, businesslike and revealed nary a sliver of their true personal feelings.

By contrast, the Europeans handed out beers to one another, popped champagne corks into a crowded room of reporters and talked about staying up all night partying, displaying the looseness and camaraderie it's evident they feel the U.S. team lacks.

In this age of political correctness, it's hard to imagine Tiger Woods or Phil Mickelson openly drinking beer after beer at a televised news conference or toasting the media afterward.

``It's a very, very strong bond and when you have a bond like that with people, it's kind of hard to break,'' Europe's Paul McGinley said.

The American team is still trying to figure out how to break it.