SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- The Longs Drugs Challenge is relocating from its recent home in the Sacramento area to the Oakland/San Francisco area starting in 2006, tournament officials have announced. The new venue, the private 36-hole Blackhawk Country Club, is located in the East Bay Area community of Blackhawk.

The move is part of a deal that also includes a three-year sponsorship extension through 2008 that keeps Longs Drugs as the title sponsor and raises the purse by $100,000 to $1.1 million. Moving the event will bring it closer to Longs Drug Stores corporate headquarters in Walnut Creek.

In addition, Raycom, which owns and operates the tournament, will pursue a new sponsor and try to secure a replacement event for the Sacramento area, while continuing to run the Longs Drugs Challenge.

The 2005 Longs Drugs Challenge was held this week at The Ridge Golf Club in Auburn, Calif., near Sacramento.