Nick Price, right, and David Toms celebrate their victory at the CVS Caremark Charity Classic

Journal photo / Bob Thayer

BARRINGTON — It's exciting in any type of race when a competitor goes from last to first to claim victory.

That includes golf tournaments. And it happened in the 11th CVS Caremark Charity Classic at Rhode Island Country Club.

Nick Price and David Toms were last in the team event after the first nine of the 36 holes. But they began their sweep through the field on the back nine the first day, then finished it in the second round.

They combined for 11 birdies for a 60 and 126 total Tuesday, three better than the team of Matt Kuchar and Laura Diaz, to claim the first-place checks of $150,000 for each player. Kuchar put on as good an individual show as the tournament has ever seen, making 11 birdies on his own ball as he and Diaz also closed with a 60.

The two 60s were all the more impressive considering the poor weather, which included more wind and a little rain, too, before finally improving as the players played the final nine.

Price, who now has won the event three times, and Toms certainly did not complain about the weather. Or anything else.

"It was fun out there. We played really well over the last 27 holes," Toms offered. "It's fun any time you get to play with Nick Price. Being his partner is even better."

Price is a Hall of Famer and current Champions Tour star. He won the CVS in 2001 with Mark Calcavecchia and 2006 with Tim Clark. He was supposed to play this year with fellow South African Retief Goosen, but when Goosen was held up at the weather-delayed U.S. Open, tourney organizers asked Toms, a CVS regular, to return.

Toms wasn't happy after the first round because he didn't play well. He and Price went out in 1-over 37, leaving them last in the 10-team field. The two said they spoke about how they better pick it up because they did not want to finish last.

Price responded with a 29 on his own ball -- which also was the team score -- getting the pair very much back in the chase at 66, one off the lead. In the second round, Toms took over. He birdied 2, 3 and 4.

"I owed it to my partner after the way he played [Monday]," Toms said. "I kind of fed off what he was doing."

By the end of the day, Toms had piled up eight birdies. His team had the lead by the start of the final nine and Toms had birds at 11, 12, 14, 15, 16. Price added one on the par-3 17th.

"He just played so well. I didn't have to put the whip on him once today. I just sat back and enjoyed the ride," Price said. "Obviously, I love this golf course. It played a lot longer this year than in previous years, but it's a wonderful old, classic golf course. I really love it. There's a great variety of shots you have to play here."

While Price and Toms were gathering most of the attention, Kuchar put on one of the most spectacular individual performances even seen on any golf course in Rhode Island. The former Georgia Tech star was another of the late invitees. He and his partner, Diaz, went out in the first group with little attention. And Kuchar went wild.

"It was some kind of fun. I really got it going," he said with an even bigger smile than usual. "I had a chip-in on the second hole and just kept it gong from there."

He added birds at 5, 6, 8 and 9 for a 31 on the front side. Then he got even better on the back with birds at 11, 12, 13, 14, 17 and 18. With pars on the other holes, that adds up to a 29 -- and a 60.

Diaz was ready to help a number of times with birdie putts. But most of the time she didn't get a chance because Kuchar birdied before it was her turn. By the end of the day, Diaz and Kuchar were doing lots of dancing as the birdies kept coming.

The official course record at RICC is 63, shared by Brad Faxon, Billy Andrade and Kyle Thompson of the University of South Carolina during NCAA regionals at the course. Kyle Phelps, the club pro, reported that unofficially Jay Haas shot a 59 and J.D. Holmes a 61, both in CVS pro-am in previous years.

Those are not official because, as Kuchar did Tuesday, they did not putt out on every hole. Kuchar picked up his ball at least twice when he had par putts remaining, but Diaz made pars for the team before he had to putt.

Still, the performance ranks up with any seen, not just in the CVS tournament, but in any golf event ever held in Rhode Island.

The hope of the home fans that a Rhode Islander would win for the first time fell apart early.

While Price-Toms and Diaz-Kuchar were raining in the birds, the Rhode Islanders fell back. Dana and Brett Quigley had a 65 and tied for fourth at 131. First-round leaders Andrade and Helen Alfredsson had 67 for 132, tying for sixth with fellow co-host Faxon and Juli Inkster. Brad Adamonis and his partner, Brittany Lincicome, were one shot further back at 133 after a closing 67.

pkenyon @projo.com