The Phoenix Open has gained valuable sponsorship dollars but lost its name.

That was the trade-off in a five-year agreement finalized Wednesday in which investment banker Friedman, Billings, Ramsey Group Inc. becomes sponsor of the event, which has been renamed the FBR Open.

The Thunderbirds, the civic organization that runs the popular PGA Tour event, said the agreement will increase the player purse by $1.2 million and will double or triple the amount the group raises annually for charity.

The January sunshine and party atmosphere at the Open have made it a destination spot for people-watching as well as birdie-watching. And since the event moved to the TPC of Scottsdale in 1987 from Phoenix Country Club, it has donated $23 million to Valley charities.

"To say we are thrilled would be an understatement," tournament Chairman Greg Hoyt said. "I must admit, I had never heard of FBR before, but these guys are pretty amazing. This will help us fulfill the Thunderbirds' mission of supporting hundreds of charities throughout the Valley."

FBR, based in the Washington, D.C., area, is one of the country's top 10 investment banking firms. It has 16 U.S. offices and two in Europe but none in the Valley.

Co-Chairman and Chief Executive Eric Billings said, "We are exploring opening an office here, and we may well do that.

"We could do what we're doing in any city, but our objective was to find a tournament and city and people that have our same enthusiastic spirit and commitment."

The Open draws a half-million fans during tournament week, making it the most-attended golf tournament in the world. But it has been without a major sponsor since Xerox pulled out after the 2002 tournament. Charitable giving has declined in recent years, from a record $3.1 million in 1998. The $4 million purse put it about $500,000 below the tour average.

Financial terms of the agreement weren't announced. The Thunderbirds had been seeking a deal worth about $6 million per year, common for non-major tournaments on the PGA Tour.

The 2004 tourney will be played Jan. 29-Feb. 1 and offer a purse of $5.2 million, which should put it among the upper echelon of the 40-plus PGA Tour events and enable it to keep top-tier players.

It also has raised daily ticket prices by $5, to $25, but Thunderbirds Big Chief Pete Kuehner said, "That decision was made long before we started talking to FBR."

The tournament began in 1932 as the Arizona Open and changed its name to the Phoenix Open in 1935. Organizers long took pride in the fact that it was one of a handful of events on the PGA Tour to keep a city in its title.

Some Thunderbirds said they had mixed emotions about seeing Phoenix removed from the title, but Kuehner thinks the trade-off was well worth the sacrifice.

"If we can give $3 million to charity instead of $1.5 million," he said, "to me that's a no-brainer."

Staff writer Craig Harris contributed to this article.