Charities Big Winner at CVS Charity Classic
Author: Staff Writer
Publication: The Patriot Ledger
Date: July 10, 2000
The CVS Charity Classic is first and foremost a golf tournament. Twenty of the world's best players tee it up today and tomorrow at Rhode Island Country Club for a $ 1 million pot.
Every contestant, from long-hitting John Daly to sweet-putting Brad Faxon, is guaranteed at least $ 30,000. The winners in the two-man, best-ball competition will leave tomorrow night with $ 100,000 apiece.
Truth be told, though, the biggest winners already have been determined. They are the tournament charities that will reap proceeds from the event. In that respect, the golf pros are merely part of a larger show.
Billy Andrade, co-host of the tournament with Faxon, remarked how that so many are involved, beginning with the sponsorinng CVS Corp. and the hundreds of volunteers who give their time. Andrade cited singer Glenn Frey as one of the most dramatic examples of how so many help.
On the course, Frey will never be confused with any of the pros. He is a left-hander who plays to a 14 handicap. While an avid golfer, Frey's contribution to this year's Classic is special. He is one of the leaders, along with Joe Walsh, of the Eagles rock group. Frey met Andrade and Faxon at a charity golf tournament nearly a decade ago.
Since Frey is such a big sports fan, he became friendly with both Faxon and Andrade. Among others, Frey is a courtside regular at Los Angeles Lakers games. "We were telling Glenn about the CVS tournament," Andrade said. "We told him about how great Jack Nicklaus was last year and about how we had Huey Lewis and the News entertain at the tournament dinner. He didn't get mad, but he said, 'I want to do that next year.' "
So it is that Frey, with his band and Walsh joining them, will provide the entertainment at the dinner tonight at the Convention Center. Combine the presence of the Eagles with the success of last year's event, and it's no wonder tonight's dinner is a sellout.
Actually, the demand has been too big.
"We're sold out," said Jack Kramer, senior vice president for CVS and the tournament director. "We made a decision to sell standing room only tickets. But there still isn't enough room. Next year, we might try and move it downstairs to a bigger room. We have more than 1,000 coming to the dinner as it is but wecould use more room."
Frey has helped charities in the past. Three years ago at Wannamoisett Country Club in East Providence , according to Andrade, he did so during the event run by Andrade and Faxon.
As is the custom with the CVS Classic, a tournament dinner and auction are held following play. On that particular year, Drew and Dixon Simmons Jr., of Narragansett, were special guests. They had donated a Tiger Woods-signed golf ball to complete a collection of balls signed by all living winners of the Masters.
At the auction, one of the items put up for sale was a display case. It contained a picture of each of the 30 celebrities who took part in the event, a golf ball signed by each and a plaque recognizing that it was part of the Andrade/Faxon Charity program. When the item went on sale, two people began bidding against each other: Frey and actor Joe Pesci.
"They kept bididng it up and got it to $ 8,000," Andrade said. "Then Glenn came up and said he and Joe Pesci were going to share the cost. But they weren't going to keep it. They gave it to the Simmons boys.
"It was a very overwhelming moment. There wasn't a dry eye in the house," Andrade said. "Glenn and his wife Cindy have two children, Deacon and Taylor. They play with Cameron and Grace, my children. Cameron and Grace love 'em. Glenn and Cindy are just the nicest couple you've ever seen.
"Glenn has been wonderful, not just as a friend but coming back and helping with our charity. He's a very giving person, a wonderful person."
Charities benefiting this year are the American Heart Association, the Billy Andrade/Brad Faxon Charities for Children, Inc., Boys and Girls Club of Providence, Button Hole children's course and learning center, the Learning Center for the Deaf, Make-A-Wish Foundation of Rhode Island, Meeting Street Center, Teen Action Group of Barrington and the Volunteer Center of Rhode Island.
The charities shared in $ 350,000 last year.
Among those taking part in yesterday's pro-am was NFL Hall of Famer Roger Staubach, who played in the group with Tom Ryan, chairman and chief executive officer of CVS.
The fact that the pro-am went off without a hitch was an accomplishment in itself. Its goal is to follow on the heels of the PGA Tour's Greater Hartford Open. That way, not only the 20 invited contestants but the 72 pros taking part in the pro-am can get to Rhode Island easily.
Because of the July Fourth holiday falling on a Tuesday this year, the CVS Classic had to be pushed back a week after the Greater Hartford Open.
The PGA event completed yesterday was the Western Open, outside Chicago . Many of the pros who took part in that event, and who failed to make the cut, were flown here at CVS tournament expense to play in yesterday's pro-am. It was an added expense over and above the approximately $ 3,500 each pro was paid to participate.
"We were aware of that, and we calculated it into our budget," Kramer said. "It's just something that had to be done because of the dates."