Tuesday October 05, 2010, 05:49 PM

European Ryder Cup captain Colin Montgomerie revealed he opted out of his victorious team's post-match celebrations in favour of a good night's sleep.

Montgomerie had endured several sleepless nights since arriving in Newport last week as he struggled to cope with the stresses and strains of trying to win golf's biggest team prize.

All the Scot's fretting proved worthwhile in the end as Europe regained the Ryder Cup with a dramatic victory over the United States at Celtic Manor on Monday.

Montgomerie's players and vice-captains were joined by their families for a celebratory party that went on into the small hours, but the Scot decided not to stay long as he was desperate to catch up on some sleep.

"It was the first night I had slept. I was knackered," Montgomerie said. "My alarm had gone off at 5am every day here but I beat my alarm clock every morning, That was just nerves and anxiety. This morning, I needed the alarm clock.

"They deserved to party the night away. I am not a big drinker to be honest with you. I have woken up with a few thick heads in my time and thought 'That wasn't the thing to do.'

"I left about 12.30 and it was still going strong. I left the trophy with Lee Westwood, who was on stage singing with it, and that was the last I saw of it until this morning when it came down polished and un-fingerprinted and unbashed!"

Montgomerie has always thrived on the drama of the Ryder Cup more than most, but even he couldn't quite come to terms with the momentous nature of the victory in the immediate aftermath of match.

"I really got quite emotional in the locker room afterwards when I started reading my closing remarks ahead of the closing ceremony," he said.

"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.

"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 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."

© 2010 AFP/sid