Wednesday Morning Golf News

Donald Named European Golfer Of The Month For May – Luke Donald has been named as The Race to Dubai European Tour Golfer of the Month for May following a hugely rewarding return to Europe in which he finished second in the BMW PGA Championship and first in the Madrid Masters in consecutive weeks. The 32 year old Englishman, who will receive an engraved alms dish and a jeroboam of Moët & Chandon champagne, captured his third European Tour title – and his first for six years –in Madrid just a week after finishing runner-up to Simon Khan in the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth Club.

 In the space of a fortnight, Donald climbed from 61st to seventh in The Race to Dubai and returned to the top ten in the Official World Golf Ranking at Number Nine. He also currently occupies one of the nine places for automatic qualification for The Ryder Cup in Wales in October. [Europeantour]

Woods To Defend His Australian masters Title – Tiger Woods will return to Australia to defend the Australian Masters title he won last November, golf’s world number one said on his website on Tuesday. Woods’ victory last year at Kingston Heath was his 82nd title worldwide, and gave him a victory on every continent on which golf is played. This year the tournament will be played from November 11-14 at Victoria Golf Club. Last year Woods closed with a 68 for a two-shot victory over Greg Chalmers before record crowds. It turned out to be the last tournament he played until the 2010 Masters in April. [Supersport]

Ballesteros named dog after Mickelson – In an interview with Golf Digest magazine, Seve Ballesteros mentioned the number of champions who have sent him notes or called him while he recovers from a brain tumor. Arnold Palmer sent him a picture of a dog. Actually, it was a photo of the King’s dog, named “Mulligan.” “Because the doctors saved my life, they say now I use my mulligan,” Ballesteros told the magazine. “So Palmer’s picture says, ‘Here’s a Mulligan for you.’” The Spanish great, however, decided to get a dog of his own to ease the loneliness. He acquired a Labrador puppy, and after watching Phil Mickelson’s inspiring victory at the Masters, Ballesteros decided to name the dog “Phil.” [Espn]

Palmer, Nicklaus, Player raise $15.1M -  Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player individually remain big draws. Together they’re a mesmerizing trio on a golf course. The trio also knows how to harness that star power to raise money. They combined Tuesday to raise just over $15.1 million at an event titled the “Big 3 for Mountain Mission Kids.” It was the single biggest fundraising day in PGA Tour history and the first public event at the Olde Farm club in Virginia. The previous mark was estimated to be about $8.5 million by Tour officials. Organizers had hoped to raise at least $12 million for the Mountain Mission School, an 89-year-old school for needy children. [Espn]

Wie Back In Action On LPGA Tour – Michelle Wie and the rest of the LPGA Tour players return to action after a three-week hiatus for this week’s State Farm Classic. The $1.7 million, 54-hole tournament tees off Friday at Panther Creek Country Club in Springfield, Ill. Wie has enjoyed a solid year. In seven starts she’s had three top-10 finishes. On Tuesday, the 21-year-old met with reporters and discussed her performance so far in 2010, and a recent acquisition. [Cybergolf]