Morgan Pressel will return to Japan next month to defend her title at the World Ladies Championship Salonpas Cup and donate half her earnings that week to the American Red Cross’ relief efforts in Japan.
Japan’s first major will be held May 5-8 at Ibaraki Golf Club in Tsukubamirai, Ibaraki, which is 150 miles south of Sendai, the area hit hardest by the March 11 earthquakes and tsunami.
Pressel won for the first time in two years last year in Japan. She was paired in the opening rounds with Ai Miyazato and Yani Tseng and likened the atmosphere to a U.S. Women’s Open or Solheim Cup.
“I was blown away by the crowds out there,” Pressel said after last year’s victory. Fans were lined three-deep on the first hole on Sunday.
Pressel, the 2007 Kraft Nabisco champion, is known for her charitable endeavors. She raised $502,000 this year alone for breast cancer awareness and research.
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