The Tour makes a short jump across the San Francisco Bay to Danville (near Oakland) for the Longs Drugs Challenge.   This event returns to Blackhawk Country Club for the third consecutive year.  The course isn't very long but has significant elevation changes which can make some holes play a lot longer.

From afar, I have to say this venue isn't the most fan-friendly on the 2008 schedule.  Blackhawk Country Club doesn't have a map of the Lakeside Course available at its website so patrons can't plan their camping-out spots in advance.  Even worse, the pre-tournament activities are all closed to the public!  A $50 weekly badge ought to at least buy access to the Pro-Am, and I can't remember seeing Monday qualifying or Tuesday practice rounds inaccessible at any other event.  Was it this way at Longs the last two years?

I'm a bit surprised that more of the Samsung field didn't hang around the Bay area for this one.  Annika Sorenstam, Cristie Kerr, Inbee Park, Karrie Webb, Song-Hee Kim and Angela Park all chose to spend the week elsewhere.  Of course the defending champion Suzann Pettersen is here along with her playoff opponent from last year, Lorena Ochoa (I was wrong last week when I said Ochoa had won two straight playoffs - actually two of her last three).  That win vaulted Pettersen into the #2 spot in my rankings and was the first of three victories Suzann would collect in October 2007.

I expect both of the two playoff participants to be in contention this week.  Pettersen came close enough at Samsung to make me believe she's on the verge of getting her first 2008 win.  I'll make my usual Lorena-Ochoa-to-win prediction, with Suzann Pettersen and Paula Creamer as my CYAs.

Stats:  6-27 (10-27 with CYAs), Top Tens 37-81.