Colin Montgomerie was today relishing the prospect of a return to the Open Championship for the first time since 2010.

The 53-year-old finished with a five-under aggregate of 137 in the 36-hole final qualifying shoot-out at Gailes Links last night and grabbed one of just three Open tee-times on offer for next month’s showpiece at Royal Troon behind Sweden’s Oskar Arvidsson and Scott Fernandez of Spain.

Montgomerie, who is an honorary member at the Open’s host venue, had to wait for almost two hours before discovering his fate as the two-round shoot-out drew to a tense conclusion.

His Open place was finally confirmed in the penultimate match when his compatriot Jack Doherty, who is attached to the Rowallan Castle course which Monty designed, failed to make the birdie he needed on the last hole to force a play-off.

Montgomerie, the eight-time European No who now plays on the Senior Tour, played in 21 consecutive Open since his debut in 1990 but will now be back for the first time in six years.

“They say qualifying is golf's longest day, but it's been worth it,” he said. “This is very special. I'll be enjoying every minute of it at Royal Troon. This was my last chance to play in the Open at Troon. The next time it comes around I'll be 65 and I won't be allowed to play. My qualifying days are behind me after this

"I stayed in the car for two hours with Alastair (his caddie) and followed the progress of the tournament on the R&A website. I’m just delighted."

Monty had made a purposeful start to his qualifying campaign and a five-under 66 in the morning, aided by four birdies on his last six holes, saw him sitting inside the qualifying mark.

But things got tight in the afternoon and the former Ryder Cup skipper was thankful to come away with just a bogey on the 15th when his tee-shot ended in a perilous plugged lie in the bunker. “It was horrendous, the worst lie of the year,” he added.

Doherty was left bitterly disappointed after his bid to tee-up an Open debut just came up short.

The Scot, who rattled the cup with a raking putt of 40-feet for a birdie on 17, said: “I knew what I had to do over the last couple of holes but I wasn’t thinking about knocking Colin Montgomerie out of the Open. I was just concentrating on my own game. It’s a disappointment but life goes on.”

Meanwhile, the domino effect of Olympic golf withdrawals continued yesterday as Jason Day, the world No 1, and Irishman Shane Lowry both pulled out because of concerns over the Zika virus.

Day, echoing four-time major winner Rory McIlroy who also withdrew last week, cited worries over health risks to his family for the decision.

Lowry said he felt he would be putting his future family plans at risk and based his decision on “firm medical advice”.

He added: “I've not taken the decision lightly and it has been a source of much anguish for me over the past week.