Andrade wins $25,000 for Special Olympics

BARRINGTON, R.I (WPRI) — Billy Andrade and Brad Faxon may not have been able to hold on and win the 2012 CVS Caremark Charity Classic, but Andrade was a winner in another way on Tuesday.

Andrade hit the ball closest to the pin on the 17th hole Tuesday to win the Best Ball prize, $25,000 for his charity, Special Olympics Rhode Island.

"He came through big time for Special Olympics Rhode Island," an excited Dennis DeJesus, CEO of Special Olympics Rhode Island, said before enthusiastically thanking Andrade for his help. "We're going to sit down as a staff tomorrow and ask what the best way is to spend this money, but we are going to use these resources to help our athletes. It's a great opportunity."

For his part Andrade said that he requested to be paired with Special Olympics Rhode Island because of his personal ties to the organization.

"My brother is handicapped, and he was in Special Olympics as a little boy," said Andrade. "So Special Olympics has always been dear to my heart, and it was a win-win for me to represent them."

Andrade got his first attempt to try and win the Best Ball prize on Monday but wasn't close enough.

"I saw them last night and I said, 'Man, I hit a bad shot today, but tomorrow I'm going to hit you a good shot,' and I hit it 2'8" [from the pin] so it was pretty cool," Andrade added.

DeJeses said that while the win was great, that it was a real pleasure just to be one of the charities represented by the Charity Classic.

"There are 20 charities of choice here, all with a track record of success.  We're all trying to improve the quality of life for the people that we serve, and that's what this Charity Classic allows us to do."