By STEVE MAZZONE

Sports writer

BARRINGTON - Since becoming a professional golfer more than a decade ago, Brad Adamonis always wondered what it would be like to play in the CVS Caremark Charity Classic. The popular, two-day event, held at the Rhode Island Country Club (RICC) in Barrington, is just a short, half-hour drive from where he grew up as a youth.
It took a few years but the former Cumberland High standout, who learned to play golf at Kirkbrae and Pawtucket Country Clubs, will now experience that feeling.
Late Sunday morning, Adamonis was added to the field of the tournament, which yearly draws some of the biggest names in golf to the smallest state. He joins PGA players David Toms and Matt Kuchar as well as LPGA professionals Laura Diaz and Brittany Lincicome as the newest additions to the CVS tourney.
Adamonis, a 1991 graduate of CHS where he was a two-time all-stater, found out he was playing when he was approached by tournament host Brad Faxon and Billy Andrade while participating in the CVS Classic’s pro-am at RICC.
“I was on the 11thhole a couple of hours ago and Brad and Billy came up to me and said we got some good news and some bad news. I said, ‘What’s the good news?’ They said the good news is you’re in, which is good,” said Adamonis, who will compete in the Travelers Championship in Hartford, Conn., later this week. “I’ve always wanted to play in this since they’ve had the tournament. It’s fantastic for me. A lot of people I know can finally see me play in Rhode Island, my home state. The bad news they said is I can’t  play a practice round at TPC River Highlands (for the Travelers Championship). But that’s OK. I’ve played there quite a bit.”
The sudden change in the field comes as a result of  the dismal weather that has plagued the U.S. Open, which will now conclude on Monday. Five of the seven participants  that were scheduled to play in this morning’s first round of the CVS tourney have made the cut at Bethgate Black and cannot join the field. The quintet includes Retief Goosen, Anthony Kim, Todd Hamilton, Camilo Villegas and Bubba Watson. Goosen, Kim and Hamilton were going to make their inaugural appearance at CVS, while the loss of Villegas and Watson marks the first time in the tournament history that a team will not return to defend their title.
“As soon as we found out what the weather reports were (Saturday) we had to put plan A, B, C and D together,” said Faxon.
Added Andrade: “I think we went though  the whole alphabet.”
Faxon and Andrade were contemplating a few options before making their final decision, including possibly having the original players in the Open come on Tuesday. In the end, the two local natives felt it was best to draw from some of the top players in the pro-am.
“It turned out we got some great players that are playing today,” Andrade said. “We are deeply sorry we can get the great players that are playing the U.S. Open, but this is the best we could do with what we got.”
Adamonis will be paired with Lincicome in the first group that tees off this morning at 10:30. They’ll play with the team of Kuchar and Diaz.
Lincicome is certainly a strong partner to have. The 33-year-old golfer, who has three wins on the LPGA Tour, captured the Kraft Nabisco Championship on April 4.
“She’s probably one of the best partners in the field so I’ll be looking forward to playing with her,” Adamonis said. “I’ll have fun. We’ll give it a shot and see if we can win it.”
Selecting the one-time Clipper star and Miami University graduate to the field appeared to make the most sense. Adamonis will be among five players with R.I. roots in the field. Faxon, Andrade, and the uncle-nephew duo of Dana and Brett Quigley also can call the Ocean State their home.
“It’s great,” Andrade said. “We’re always looking for a  local guy. We want all our local players to do well. It’s hard for (Brad and I) to be in a situation where a guy like Brad (Adamonis) might get in. How you go about it to get the best field possible? Planning this thing goes a long way for us. Planning today goes a long way, finding out who is available. If he didn’t play today he probably wouldn’t have gotten invited to play tomorrow. The fact that he supports this tournament and is local, it’s wonderful.”
Adamonis playing among golf’s elite today couldn’t have made for a better script. After struggling to make the PGA Tour in his early years, the 36-year-old Adamonis is now in his second year as a full-fledged member. In his rookie season last year, he made 14 of 29 cuts and earned $862,413. His first season was highlighted by a tie for second at the John Deere Classic.
Just a few days ago, Adamonis was reflecting on how far he has come in his career.
“I was thinking about that the other day because I played with Scott Verplank and Chris DiMarco last week in the final round of Memphis,” said Adamonis, making reference to the St. Jude’s Classic, where he tied for 23rd in the field. “I remember when these guys were playing when I was an amateur. It’s pretty cool that I’m actually here playing with these guys and actually beating them some time.”
What has also made Adamonis appearance at CVS a special one is his own personal life. His dad, David Adamonis, beat prostate cancer back in 2005 but is currently fighting for his life battling lymphoma, throat cancer and lung cancer all at once. The elder Admanonis has been a huge advocate of golf in the state over the years and was the head coach of the Johnson & Wales (Fla.) University golf team, guiding the squad to the national championship four years ago.
“He called us before the tournament and said if something happens he’d be around and what this would mean to his dad, how it would brighten his dad’s spirits,” Faxon said. “His father’s been involved in golf for as long as I could remember.”
“He’ll be pretty happy,” said Adamonis, who still hadn’t contacted his dad about the CVS tourney. “He really hasn’t been feeling well. He has stage 4 lung cancer and just got out of Mass. General Hospital. He loves golf and loves when I play well. That gets him charged up.”
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CVS Caremark Charity Classic
First round
Monday at Rhode Island Country Club
10:30 a.m. - Brittany Lincicome- Brad Adamonis
                     Laura Diaz-Matt Kuchar
10:40 a.m. - Brett Quigley-Dana Quigley
                     David Toms-Nick Price
10:50 a.m. - Brad Faxon-Juli Inkster
                     Peter Jacobsen-Natalie Gulbis
11 a.m. - Billy Andrade-Helen Alfredsson
               Davis Love III-Morgan Pressel
11:10 a.m. - Zach Johnson-Nick Whatney
                    Boo Weekley-Chad Campbell