Brad Faxon misses a putt on the 18th hole that would have tied his team with the leaders, forcing a playoff yesterday at Rhode Island Country Club.

The Providence Journal / Bob Breidenbach

BARRINGTON — When Bob Knight was coaching basketball at Indiana, he used to say that his definition of a “classic” was: “My team, and three others I know I can beat.”

It was a formula he used with great success while winning the early-season “Hoosier Classic” year after year.

That is the only area in which Brad Faxon and Billy Andrade have fallen short in the otherwise marvelous job they have over the last nine years in making the annual CVS Caremark Charity Classic a hugely successful event.

The two of them have done everything right with the tournament, except for one thing: They’ve yet to win it.

For the fifth time in nine years, Faxon finished second. He and reigning Masters champion Zach Johnson each missed birdie bids on the 18th hole yesterday and wound up one shot behind J.J. Henry and Stewart Cink, who were 20-under par in the two-day, better-ball event at sun-drenched Rhode Island Country Club. Andrade and loquacious legend Lee Trevino, the 67-year-old winner of six major championships, wound up tied for seventh in the field of 10 teams.

“I’m disappointed we didn’t win,” Faxon said. “We had putts going all over the edges.”

What he most certainly is not disappointed about is all the money the tournament has raised for charity. Last year’s figure was $1.6 million, and Faxon expects to exceed that amount this year, helped by the more than $700,000 raised at Monday’s night auction held at the tournament gala at Marble House, in Newport.

This year’s proceeds likely will push total contributions from the tournament to area charities over the $10-million mark since the event first was held in 1999.

Combined with the money generated by a charity tournament Faxon and Andrade hosted for many years at Wannamoisett, it should come as no surprise to anyone in Rhode Island and Southeastern Massachusetts that, in a recent Wall Street Journal listing of contributions made by professional athletes’ charitable foundations, Andrade-Faxon Charities for Children ranked among the top 10.

“That feels pretty good,” Faxon said yesterday, adding that, when the charities receive their checks at a “presentation day” later in the year, “There literally are people in tears, they’re so grateful.”

Johnson spoke for all the players when he expressed his gratitude at being able to play in such an enjoyable event while also helping to raise money for numerous worthwhile causes.

“I’ve heard stories on Tour about what a great tournament this is,” he said. “Now I know what they were talking about. Billy and Brad are two of the most well-respected players on Tour. They’re role models.”

Faxon and Andrade put a tremendous amount of time and effort into organizing the tournament.

“Once the golf starts,” Faxon said yesterday, “it’s easy.”

What’s hard is being the host of an event while also trying to win it.

“This is a tough week for Brad,” said Henry, who was paired with Cink on the U.S. Ryder Cup team that lost in Ireland to the Europeans last fall.

“As much as I’m sure he wants to win, being the host means he has a lot of commitments to friends and family. Brad’s the nicest guy in the world. He wants to say ‘Hi!’ to everybody. He signs autographs. That’s why we were a hole-and-a-half behind the foursome ahead of us.”

Faxon also is a fierce competitor.

“Brad showed how serious he is about winning,” Cink said, “when he picked his partner.”

Faxon has had some very good partners at the CVS over the years. He and Gary Player lost in a playoff in 2001. Two years later, he and Andrade teamed to finish second.

Faxon now has been runner-up three years in a row, and four of the last five. He and Sergio Garcia tied for second in 2005. Last year, he and Mike Weir lost in a playoff for the title.

Although Faxon and the Great White Shark teamed up to win three times together at the Fred Meyer Challenge, they finished sixth when they played together in the CVS in 2004.

Despite his numerous second-place finishes, he is a first-rate host of a first-class event that has become the talk of the Tour.

“As long as we keep getting invited,” said Henry, speaking for himself and Cink, “we’ll keep coming back. The weather was great. The crowds were great. The whole community rallies behind this event. It’s a lot of fun.”

While winning would be a lot of fun for Faxon, that’s not his top priority at the CVS.

“To see everybody smiling — that’s what makes it all worth it,” he said.

Especially the smiles he sees when the charities receive their checks. Those are truly classic.

jdonald@projo.com