Colin Montgomerie has a lot to smile about these days. His sunny disposition at the Clearwater Bay Golf and Country Club cheered the troop of reporters waiting to ask him whether he had stepped down from the euphoric Ryder Cup cloud.
A far-cry from the curmudgeon who used to snap at the media after one missed putt, Montgomerie is feeling good not only because of Ryder Cup success, but also due to the fact golf's power axis has shifted from the United States to Europe.
Monty ticks off the facts: Tiger Woods is about to relinquish his throne as the top golfer in the world; Europe won the Ryder Cup; three European Tour players have won three of the Majors this year.
Monty is in a good mood and the assembled media heave a sigh of relief.
'Yes, a changing of the guard is taking place - to Europe, the European Tour as well as to Asia where a lot of the golf is being played these days,' grinned the Ryder Cup captain, in town last Tuesday along with China's long-time stalwart Zhang Lianwei to lead HSBC's charity golf day in support of Unicef's universal primary education programme in Asia.
'We have always bowed to America's dominance of the world rankings with Tiger [Woods] and Phil Mickelson as one and two, but now we have Lee Westwood and Martin Kaymer coming through. We've had a fantastic year in Europe and that dominance is now changing.'