COLIN Montgomerie paid tribute to McDowell, telling Sky Sports 1: "Graeme McDowell was put there for a very good reason. He's full of confidence and that showed.

"That birdie on 16 was quite unbelievable.’’ He continued: "I'm very proud. It's a very proud moment for us all here in Europe. They all played to a man magnificently, they all gave 110% and that's all you can ask.

"I want to talk about every player playing how well they did. They did magnificently. I knew I had a great 12. I just had to rely on certain people at certain times.

"At one stage there were eight blue names on the board and it was over. But they weren't two, three up, they were one up. It's a dangerous position to be in.

"They (the US) came back extremely well. All credit to them. Tiger showed he was number one in the world. Phil Mickelson did brilliantly.

"All credit to the American team. You played magnificently today. The three-point deficit was the reason why we won.’’ Asked about his own achievement, Montgomerie said: "I didn't hit a shot so it wasn't much of an achievement, but it's a proud proud moment.’’