COLIN Montgomerie, Europe's greatest Ryder Cup player, will make his fourth successive appearance at this year's Celtic Manor Wales Open (June 1-4).

A delighted Montgomerie explained: "I've always enjoyed my visits to The Celtic Manor Resort. The facilities are superb and the developments I've seen over the past couple of years auger well for the Ryder Cup in 2010.

"With this year's Ryder Cup not too far away there are a lot of players on tour who will be trying to put in strong performances at tournaments like The Celtic Manor Wales Open in order to be in with a chance of a berth at the K Club.

"Although I've had some fantastic results over the past year and this has taken me to the top of the European points list, I know that I have to keep performing to guarantee my position."

Once again, this year's tournament will be played on the resort's Roman Road course, as preparations for the new course, on which the 2010 Ryder Cup will be played, continue.

Jon Phelps, vice president of marketing and strategy at The Celtic Manor Resort and tournament director of the Wales Open, said: "We are naturally delighted to confirm that Colin Montgomerie will return in 2006.

"Colin is clearly one of the most successful golfers ever to play on the European Tour and, as a result, our galleries have always given him fantastic support."