Safeway International raised $825,000 for local charities

Tom Maletis, President of Tournament Golf Foundation Inc. (TGFI), today announced that the 2005 Safeway International, presented by Coca-Cola, generated $825,000 to benefit Arizona-based charities.

The 2005 Safeway International was held in March at Superstition Mountain Golf and Country Club. Annika Sorenstam, the top player on the LPGA tour, won the title for the second consecutive year. The charitable proceeds from the event will be directed from TGFI to the Phoenix division chapter of Safeway Foundation for distribution to local area charities.

The LPGA event, which began in 1983, has now donated over $10 million to local charities. Combined with the 2004 event, the Safeway International has generated $1,583,000 for charity in two years.

Banner Health Foundation, the philanthropic resource for the state’s largest nonprofit healthcare provider, has been identified as the primary beneficiary of charitable funds from the tournament. Banner Health Foundation is a major partner in the annual tournament, recruiting and managing more than 1,000 volunteers for the event.

“Our goal for the tournament was to donate at least half as much money to charity as we had in our $1.4 million purse, which we exceeded,” said Maletis. “Thanks to Safeway, Banner Health Foundation, Superstition Mountain Golf and Country Club, local sponsors and incredible volunteers, the event drew unprecedented crowds, generated record proceeds for charity and created a significant economic impact on the local area. We look forward to building on our success.”

The 2006 edition of the The Safeway International will be held March 13-19. The field for the tournament should be great once again. In 2005, the tournament had the top 50 players from the previous year signed up to participate.

Tournament Golf Foundation Inc. is of a group of volunteers who donate their time and provide the primary operations for the annual event. Begun in 1972, the group is now comprised of 47 individuals and couples. TGFI is also the owner and operator of the Safeway Classic in Portland, OR. The Safeway Classic will be held August 15-21.”

Safeway Inc. is a Fortune 500 company and one of the largest food and drug retailers in North America based on sales. The Company operates 1,802 stores in the United States and Western Canada, and has annual sales of $35.8 billion from continuing operations in 2004. The Company’s stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol SWY. Safeway’s Phoenix division operates 113 stores in Arizona, and one in Gallup, N.M.

For more information on the Safeway International and Tournament Golf Foundation, visit their website: www.safewaygolf.com. For more information about Safeway and the Safeway Foundation, please visit www.safeway.com.