Monty's done it. The sight of the big man with the fair hair peeping out from the top of a tightly buttoned up Mao jacket at a table in China indicated two things. The first that Monty's dress sense was being affronted by the vivacity of the colour of the jacket; the second that he had won the World Cup with Marc Warren.

It's about time. Montgomerie and Warren were beaten in a playoff last year and Scotland had been runners-up on five other occasions, though not with Montgomerie and Warren as their players.

So there was the most interesting golfer in Europe, the most talkative, the most quotable wearing a funny jacket while dozens of Chinese photographers buzzed around him. He should have had a cup of ginger tea beside the trophy as well. But there wouldn't have been room what with the size of his smile.

It is good to welcome the Scot back to the winner's circle in golf, particularly after a playoff because playoffs and Montgomerie do not go together. The man who has won eight Orders of Merit and is unbeaten in singles in his eight appearances in the Ryder Cup has lost eight of the 11 playoffs in which he has featured. He has won two and one was tied when he and Bernhard Langer were unable to come to a conclusion at the 2002 Volvo Masters because of darkness.

It's a funny thing that Montgomerie is so poor at sudden death. You would think that such a good golfer would have no difficulty when it comes to this form of golf.

Montgomerie is 44 now. He has been a fixture in golf around the world for nearly 15 years. That is a long time by any time scale. Perhaps his success in China was down to his personal happiness. In the spring next year he is to marry - again. Gaynor, his fiancee, is the widow of a very successful Scottish businessman and she and her daughter were with Montgomerie in China.

It is too much to expect anything other than occasional victories from Montgomerie now. You would think he would be a certainty for next year's Ryder Cup team. But hang on a minute. He is not in the top 30 of either the World Points List or the Europe Points List. Montgomerie needs to get going if he is to make a ninth appearance.

Let's wish him well though, both in his marriage next spring and his attempt to be in Nick Faldo's team in Louisville next September. A Europe team without the intelligent and personable Scot will be unusual.

Victory here in China, an hour from the border with Hong Kong, in a town that had a population of 250,000 12 years ago and is now up to 11 million, is a step in the right direction. Go on Monty! Your continent needs you.