Colin Montgomerie was today confirmed as the new captain of Europe's Ryder Cup team and immediately vowed to win the trophy back from the United States.

The Scot was surprisingly left out last year by Nick Faldo as Europe lost the contest for the first time since 1999.

Now Montgomerie is determined to regain the prize at Celtic Manor in Wales next year.

“I am very proud and honoured to have been selected to be captain. But I'm not just honoured, it is a huge responsibility as well,” said the 45-year-old. “Having lost the last Ryder Cup in Valhalla, it is important that we do everything that we can, and I can promise you that I will be doing everything I can, to claim back the Ryder Cup in Wales in 2010.

“This is a very exciting time for the European Tour. With the wealth of talent we have we could field three teams that are almost as strong as each other.

“We have a nucleus of the team that I'm sure will remain. But we also have new talent emerging that I will be very excited to captain. Not just to captain, but also to win. My message to the players is that we go and claim back the Ryder Cup. That is what I intend to do.”

Montgomerie revealed he would not attempt to qualify for the ninth time as a player. But he has not given up hope of competing again in 2012. “That is my aim,” he said.

There was some surprise that Jose Maria Olazabal, the other leading candidate for the 2010 match, was not named as captain for 2012.

But Montgomerie confirmed that Olazabal will be a part of his backroom team at Celtic Manor.

Montgomerie, winner of a record eight European Order of Merits, brings a formidable record as a Ryder Cup contender to his new non‑playing role.
He has been a member of eight European teams and has never lost in the singles. His overall win-lose-draw record of 20-9-7 gives him a total points tally of 23.5, just 1.5 points behind the Ryder Cup record held by Faldo.

Also counting in Montgomerie's favour was the fact he had already gained extensive captaincy experience. He led the Great Britain and Ireland team in the first four Seve Trophy matches against Continental Europe, and emerged victorious on three occasions Corey Pavin will captain the US team and Montgomerie knows he will be in for a tough encounter if his previous clashes with his rival as a player are anything to go by.

He said: “I respect him as a competitor and I think that's the word I'd use to describe him.
“I've played him on three occasions in the Ryder Cup, coming out on top twice, just.

“At the same time every match I played him was tough and I know that having won it in America before (as a player), there's no question that he wants to retain it as much as we want it back, It will be a close affair.”

Thomas Bjorn, chairman of the European committee which selected the captain, said the decision had been unanimous among the 15-strong panel.

He said: “At one stage we thought about naming two captains but we felt that we should concentrate on one captain at a time. That is what we should be doing and I can say that the committee was unanimous in thinking that Colin was the right man to win the Ryder Cup and take those men into battle.”