WALNUT CREEK, Calif. -- Longs Drug Stores announced that four customers -- Karen Christensen and Jerry Foster of Auburn, Calif., Jeffrey Abbott of San Diego, Calif. and Ed O'Hara of Hilo, Hawaii have won the Longs Drugs Pro for a Day Sweepstakes.

The prize is an all-expense paid trip to the Longs Drugs Challenge LPGA tournament taking place this week, October 3-9 at the Ridge Golf Club in Auburn, Calif. The cornerstone of the prize package is a round of golf in the Longs Challenge Pro-Am on Wednesday, October 5, playing side-by-side on a team with LPGA Hall-of-Famer and two-time Longs Drugs Challenge champion Juli Inkster.

Longs Drugs launched the sweepstakes throughout its 473 stores in California, Hawaii, Washington, Nevada, Colorado and Oregon on August 20, and concluded the promotion on September 5. Four winners were randomly selected and notified in mid-September.

"I was very excited to learn that I'd won," said Karen Christensen, a teacher from Auburn, Calif. "As a local resident, I've been an avid fan of the Longs Drugs Challenge for quite some time. I started playing golf about five years ago and Juli Inkster has been one of the players that I've admired from the start. It's going to be an absolute rush to share the fairway with
her."

The Pro for a Day Sweepstakes celebrates Longs Drugs' ninth annual title sponsorship of this prestigious LPGA tournament. The Longs Drugs Challenge is one of the favorite stops of the players on the LPGA Tour. This year's tournament boasts some of golf's biggest names, including defending champion Christina Kim, top U.S. player Cristie Kerr, winner in 2002, and the world's best female golfer Annika Sorenstam, winner in 1997. Juli Inkster, a Northern
California native, won the Longs Drugs Challenge tournament in 1999 and 2000 and currently resides in Los Altos, Calif. Longs has more than doubled the tournament purse from $500,000 in 1997 to its current $1 million.

"The Pro for a Day Sweepstakes is a great way to celebrate nine years of success sponsoring the Longs Drugs Challenge," said Warren Bryant, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, Longs Drugs. "We are thrilled to offer these winners an opportunity to play with Juli Inkster, one of the LPGA's most celebrated athletes. Longs Drugs also extends its appreciation and gratitude to Ms. Inkster for participating in this exciting event."

Also on Wednesday, Longs Drugs Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer Warren Bryant will honor two influential sports organizations in the area. Longs Drugs will make a $15,000 donation to The First Tee of Greater Sacramento and a $1,000 donation to LPGA-USGA Girls Golf of Walnut Creek.

The First Tee is a World Golf Foundation initiative dedicated to providing young people of all backgrounds an opportunity to develop, through golf and character education, life-enhancing values such as honesty, integrity and sportsmanship. The intent is to offer opportunities for improvement in the quality of life and create a platform where children can increase their
potential for success. Similarly, LPGA-USGA Girls Golf creates a healthy environment for girls to play golf that, in turn, builds their self-confidence and prepares them to meet the challenges of today's world with assurance.

Longs Drugs Challenge tournament play begins on Thursday, October 6. The sweepstakes winners will join the ranks of VIP spectators at the tournament through the final round and award ceremony on Sunday, October 9.

"This is my first time meeting a pro golfer; I hope to get some pointers for my game," said sweepstakes winner Jeffrey Abbott, who resides in La Mesa, Calif., a suburb of San Diego. "I'm looking forward to meeting the other winners and getting to spend the week among some of the country's best golfers."

Longs Drug Stores
Founders Joseph and Thomas Long opened their first Longs Drugs in Oakland, California in 1938. Today, Longs Drug Stores Corporation is one of the most recognized retail drug store chains on the West Coast and in Hawaii. Through its 473 stores located in California, Hawaii, Washington, Nevada, Colorado and Oregon, Longs Drug Stores serves the health and well-being needs of consumers through customer-oriented pharmacy services and convenient product offerings that include over-the-counter medications, photo and cosmetics. Headquartered in Walnut Creek, California, Longs also provides pharmacy benefit management (PBM) services through its RxAmerica subsidiary.