Ryder Cup captain José María Olazábal set for Wales Open debut
Last updated on .From the section Wales
New Volvo World Match Play champion Nicolas Colsaerts will play in ISPS Handa Wales Open from 31 May-3 June.
He joins nine other winners on The European Tour this season, while Ryder Cup captain José María Olazábal will make his debut in event.
It will give the Spaniard a chance to monitor contenders for his 2012 Europe team ahead of the event against the USA in Illinois in September.
Olazábal is relishing a return to the scene of Europe's triumph in 2010.
"I am looking forward to going back to Celtic Manor where I have many fond memories from the last Ryder Cup," Olazábal said.
"It was an honour to be called into the team room as a vice-captain, when Colin [Montgomerie] felt he needed another set of eyes with additional matches out on the golf course.
"The fact that it turned out to be such a dramatic and emotional victory made it all the more special.
"I now look forward to playing the challenging Twenty Ten Course myself in the Wales Open.
"It will be a good chance to see how some of the players vying for a place in this year's Ryder Cup are performing just three months before the team is selected."
Colsaerts won the World Match Play title by seeing off the challenge of 2010 Wales Open champion Graeme McDowell by one hole in the final at Finca Cortesin in Spain.
It rounded off an impressive weekend for the Belgium, who is now sixth in the Ryder Cup standings, during which he also beat Justin Rose, Brandt Snedeker and Paul Lawrie in the knockout format.
Former Open champion Lawrie and fellow Volvo Match Play semi-finalist, Rafael Cabrero-Bello, are two more of the in-form 2012 tournament winners heading to Celtic Manor.
Scotland's Lawrie, a past winner of the tournament at Celtic Manor, claimed the latest of his seven European Tour victories at the Commercialbank Qatar Masters in February and Cabrera-Bello collected the Omega Dubai Desert Classic the following week.
This year's other European Tour winners in the starting field at Celtic Manor are Francesco Molinari, Michael Hoey, Jbe Kruger, Bernd Wiesberger, Thorbjorn Olesen, Julien Quesne and Ricardo Santos.
Others competing in Wales are Ross Fisher and the Molinari brothers, Edoardo and Francesco.
Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano, currently ninth on the European points list, is another contender for this year's team under captain Olázabal and has entered the Wales Open.
Past winners of the tournament have also included Ryder Cup stars McDowell, Robert Karlsson, Miguel Angel Jiménez, Ian Poulter and Paul McGinley.
Last year, Alexander Noren triumphed by two strokes before going on to claim the Nordea Masters in his native Sweden.
Ryder Cup captain José María Olazábal will make his debut in the ISPS Handa Wales Open from 31 May-3 June.
It will give the Spaniard a chance to monitor contenders for his 2012 Europe team ahead of the event against the USA in Illinois in September.
Olazábal is relishing a return to the scene of Europe's triumph in 2010.
"I am looking forward to going back to Celtic Manor where I have many fond memories from the last Ryder Cup," Olazábal said.
"It was an honour to be called into the team room as a vice-captain, when Colin [Montgomerie] felt he needed another set of eyes with additional matches out on the golf course.
"The fact that it turned out to be such a dramatic and emotional victory made it all the more special.
"I now look forward to playing the challenging Twenty Ten Course myself in the Wales Open.
"It will be a good chance to see how some of the players vying for a place in this year's Ryder Cup are performing just three months before the team is selected."
The two-time Masters champion has, however, won in Wales before and counts the 1991 Epson Grand Prix of Europe at nearby St Pierre among his 23 European Tour titles.
While Olazábal prepares for his first appearance in the Wales Open, Montgomerie will be teeing up for the 10th year running.
Some of his Ryder Cup players will also be making a welcome return to the scene of their triumph, including Ross Fisher and the Molinari brothers, Edoardo and Francesco.
Paul Lawrie and Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano, currently fifth and sixth respectively on the European points list, are two more contenders for this year's team under captain Olázabal and have entered the Wales Open.
Lawrie was a winner at Celtic Manor in 2002, his last European Tour victory before claiming two titles within a year - at the 2011 Open de Andalucia and the 2012 Commercialbank Qatar Masters.
Past winners of the tournament have also included Ryder Cup stars Graeme McDowell, Robert Karlsson, Miguel Angel Jiménez, Ian Poulter and Paul McGinley.
Last year, Alexander Noren triumphed by two strokes before going on to claim the Nordea Masters in his native Sweden.
