CVS Classic: Pros, Locals Play Together in Charity Pro-Am
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Monday, June 23, 2014
Jack Andrade, GoLocal Sports Reporter
URI graduate and 32-time professional winner Dana Quigley launches a drive on the 8th hole.
The 2014 CVS Charity Classic golf tournament teed off with local amateurs playing with professional superstars on a gorgeous summer day at Rhode Island Country Club.
The Pepsi Pro-Am pitted 5-player teams of 1 pro and 4 amateurs against each other in a best ball shamble format. Each player would tee off and the entire group would play from the spot of the best tee shot. Each player would play his/her ball into the hole and the best score (counting handicap strokes) for each team would count for that hole.
Two-time PGA TOUR winner and 2003 CVS Caremark Charity Classic champion Dudley Hart, along with amateur teammates Scott Connolly, John Bowen, David Cesario and Chris Hurd, shot a 19-under-par 52 to qualify for Monday’s Pepsi Max Shootout.
"It was great to play with Dudly Hart. What a fabulous day," said Scott Connolly. "We were very surprised we won, it's going to be amazing tomorrow!"
The Hart team will be going toe to toe with another team that shot a 19-under-par 52 in the opening round.
With the help of PGA TOUR pro Vincent Johnson, amateurs Charley Golden, Anthony Ricuitti, Jeff Kern and Paul Stivender earned the other spot in Monday’s shootout.
The first round of the Charity Classic pro tournament begins on Monday, with teams of 2 professionals each squaring off for various charities throughout southern New England.
Monday Tee Times
10:30 a.m.
Morgan Pressel – Juli Inkster
Peter Jacobsen – Jimmy Walker
10:40 a.m.
Pepsi Max Shootout (A.M. Group)
Scott Connolly, John Bowen, David Cesario, Chris Hurd
10:50 a.m.
Russell Henley – Harris English
Hunter Mahan – Jason Dufner
11:00 a.m.
Pepsi Max Shootout (P.M. Group)
Charley Golden, Anthony Ricuitti, Jeff Kern, Paul Stivender
11:10 a.m.
Suzann Pettersen – Jonas Blixt
Lexi Thompson – Billy Horschel
11:20 a.m.
Erik Compton – Brad Faxon
Zach Johnson – Matt Kuchar
11:30 a.m.
Bill Haas – Billy Andrade
Bo Van Pelt – Steve Stricker
Tournament Activities
The scenic 18th hole at Rhode Island Country Club.
Path to Better Health - New this year is the “Path to Better Health” presented by AstraZeneca – a walking path around the course that features interactive health and wellness stations. From skin screenings and simple exercise and stretching stations to nutritional advice and more, area experts will host interactive and educational stations along the path. Fans can participate in the fun and educational activities as they follow the pros around the golf course. What’s more, the first 1,000 guests to check in at the tournament’s new health and wellness expo on Monday and Tuesday, June 23 and 24 will receive a pedometer to track their steps around the course. Fans who take the most steps daily can enter to win special prizes during the tournament.
All Kids Can Three-Hole Challenge - Designed to offer kids of all abilities a chance to participate in the tournament and experience golf like the pros, the All Kids Can Three-Hole Challenge, sponsored by Kimberly Clark, features a specially designed challenge on holes 16-18 the morning of Monday, June 23. Five foursomes, each comprised of kids representing a variety of the tournament’s charity partners, will participate in the fun activity.
Closet to the Pin Contest - Each of the 20 main field professionals will be paired with one of the tournament’s charity partners. Each day, the golfer whose tee shot lands closest to the pin on the 17th hole wins $25,000 for the charity for which they are playing.
CVS Caremark Charity Classic Goes Green - More than just the course will be green at the CVS Caremark Charity Classic. Easy-to-use recycling stations will be at all concessions and hospitality locations throughout the grounds. Recycling stations will feature places for patrons to sort paper, plastic and items to be composted such as food waste and more. All plates and cups used in the catered venues during the three-day event are made from 100% compostable materials and plastic utensils will be replaced by silverware in all hospitality suites. Additionally, all beverage containers throughout the course are recyclable and concessions will feature recyclable or compostable containers. To ensure proper recycling and composting procedures, highly visual signs will provide information and instructions about what is recyclable and compostable.
Related Slideshow: 2014 CVS Charity Classic Field
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Erik Compton
Compton underwent a heart transplant at age 12 and gave up contact sports for good. After taking up golf, he rose to become the #1 ranked junior golfer 6 years later. Compton had a second heart transplant in 2008, and made his first Top 10 on the PGA Tour in 2013.
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Harris English
English has won twice on the PGA Tour, and won a Nationwide Tour event as an amateur (one of 3 players ever to do so). Not bad for a 24-year-old.
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Russell Henley
Henley also won a Nationwide Tour Event before turning pro, and he's got a pair of PGA Tour wins on his resume as well. He and fellow Georgia-native English will be pairing up in this year's Classic.
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Morgan Pressel
Pressel is the only female winner in CVS Classic history, winning the 2012 event with Jay Haas. Pressel is a 2-time winner on the LPGA Tour and won the Kraft Nabisco Championship (a major) in 2007.
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Hunter Mahan
Mahan is a 5-time PGA Tour winner and the 38th ranked player in the world. Known for having one of the smoothest swings in golf, Mahan made headlines last summer by withdrawing from a tournament he was leading after 36 holes to be with his wife as she went into labor with their first child.
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Billy Horschel
Horschel is a young professional and won his first PGA Tour Event last season. He also finished 4th at the U.S. Open in 2013. Horschel is known for his fashion sense, including his famous octopus pants.
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Suzann Pettersen
Pettersen has won 14 times on the LPGA Tour, including a pair of majors. She's been ranked as high as #2 in the world and the Norway native has also won 7 events on the Ladies European Tour.
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Lexi Thompson
The 19-year-old Thompson won her first major earlier this year at the Kraft Nabisco Championship. She qualified for the U.S. Women's Open at age 12 and has quickly ascended to the top of the LPGA as a teenager. She's currently ranked 5th in the world.
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Brad Faxon
Faxon co-founded the Charity Classic in 1999 and has hosted the event every year since. He's an 8-time winner on the PGA Tour, a 1-time Champions Tour winner, and one of the most charitable golfers in the world today. Faxon led an alumni drive to save and fund the Furman (his alma mater) golf program earlier this year.
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Billy Andrade
Andrade has also hosted the Charity Classic every year since 1999, and his reputation for charitable work is on par with Faxon's. He and Faxon run the junior golf program at Buttonhole Golf program in Providence and also run the Andrade-Faxon Charities for Children program. Andrade has won 4 times on the PGA Tour.
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Peter Jacobsen
Jacobsen joins Faxon and Andrade as the only players to have played in every Charity Classic since its inception. He won 7 events on the PGA Tour and has won 2 majors on the Champions Tour. He's also worked as a commentator on NBC and the Golf Channel.
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Matt Kuchar
Kuchar won the 2011 Charity Classic with Zach Johnson as his playing partner. Kuchar is the highest ranked player in the field (#4 in the world). He has won 7 PGA Tour Events in his career.
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Zach Johnson
Johnson is an 11-time PGA Tour winner and won the 2011 Charity Classic with Matt Kuchar. Johnson is the only player in the field with a green jacket, winning The Masters in 2007. Johnson is the 13th ranked player in the world.
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Jason Dufner
Dufner is a 3-time winner on the PGA Tour and the 2013 PGA Championship winner. Unflappable and seemingly emotionless on the golf course, Dufner inspired the "Dufnering" internet sensation. Dufner is currently the 15th ranked player in the world.
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Steve Stricker
Stricker has won 12 times on the PGA Tour and is ranked 19th in the world today. He and Bo Van Pelt won the Charity Classic last year and set a new tournament scoring record. Faxon has hinted that the defending champions could be paired up again this year.
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Juli Inkster
Inkster has won 31 times on the LPGA Tour and is a World Golf Hall of Famer. She's won 7 majors and earned over $13 million over her professional career.
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Bo Van Pelt
Van Pelt is a co-defending champion at the Charity Classic and has also won events on the PGA Tour, Asian Tour, European Tour, and Australasian Tour over the course of his career.
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Jimmy Walker
Prior to this season, Walker has never won a PGA Tour event in his 187 career starts. He won 3 of the first 8 events he played in 2014, breaking into the top 20 of the World Golf rankings in the process. He's the current FedExCup points leader (the winner of the FedExCup wins $10 million).
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Bill Haas
Haas has won 5 times on the PGA Tour and is currently ranked 34th in the world. He and his father Jay won the Charity Classic in 2004, becoming the first and only father/son tandem to win the event.
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Jonas Blixt
Blixt, a native of Sweden, is ranked 35th in the world rankings despite not earning his PGA Tour Card until 2012. He's won a pair of PGA Tour events in his young career,
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