Mickelson pledges New Orleans winnings to Katrina fund

NEW ORLEANS, Apr 27 (Reuters) U S Masters champion Phil Mickelson plans to donate his winnings from this week's Zurich Classic of New Orleans to the Hurricane Katrina Relief Fund.

Playing his first tournament since his two-shot victory at Augusta National three weeks ago, Mickelson has already contributed 250,000 dollars to the fund.

''This year I want to designate this tournament as the tournament that we give whatever I make to the relief fund,'' the 35-year-old American told a teleconference yesterday.

''And we want to do that for the next five or 10 years, as long as it takes. No one person can do it on his own.

''To see the community, the way everybody is pitching together, to see the enthusiasm and excitement in that everybody knows this is going to get done.

''It's going to take time and it's a tough situation. But it's going to get done.'' The world number two has been especially overwhelmed by the fund-raising efforts of fellow PGA Tour players David Toms and Kelly Gibson.

Louisiana native Toms has generated more than 1.5 million dollars through his David Toms Foundation while New Orleans resident Gibson is celebrated by his peers for the drive, time and money he has put into his ''Feed the Relief'' fund over the last eight months.

''To really get involved in the rebuilding effort, and put not just their money, but their time in it is really cool,'' Mickelson said.

''I want to help out those guys and support the guys on Tour. I just think their efforts are tremendous.

Referring specifically to Gibson, he added: ''To see what he has done, he has made a big difference on a lot of people's lives.'' Mickelson is the biggest name in the field at the English Turn Golf and Country Club, venue for the first major international sports event to be staged in New Orleans since the Hurricane Katrina disaster late last August.

The hurricane, which hit Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama, flooded 80 percent of New Orleans and ravaged the Tournament Players Club of Louisiana, venue for last year's event.

English Turn Golf and Country Club, situated on relatively high ground, suffered limited freshwater flooding from Katrina and returns to host the Classic for a 17th time after a one-year absence.

''The golf course looks very similar and it's in terrific shape,'' added Mickelson, who played in the pre-tournament pro-am earlier in the day.

''I think it's going to play a lot longer than it did in the past but we will still see low scores because of the softer greens.

They putt very well.'' The 6 million dollars Zurich Classic of New Orleans, the 18th tournament on the 2006 PGA Tour, starts today.

REUTERS DH RN0946