After a serious car accident eight years ago, Bud Cauley didn’t know if he’d ever play golf again, much less compete on the PGA Tour.
Cauley not only returned to the game’s highest level, he won his first PGA Tour title in dramatic fashion, making four birdies in a five-hole stretch on the back nine to claim the RBC Canadian Open by two shots over Matt Fitzpatrick.
“There were times when I was hurt that we really weren’t sure if I was going to be able to play again,” Cauley said. “So there were moments and conversations that (my wife) Kristi and I had where we didn’t know if it was going to work out.
“Once I was able to start playing again and I felt more comfortable with my body and it holding up – I’ve always believed in my ability to play golf and play the game and be competitive – I knew I could win, but I also knew that I needed to prove it to myself and go out and do it.”
Cauley, 36, was injured in June of 2018 on a Friday evening after missing the cut at the Memorial Tournament. A back seat passenger in a horrific single-car accident in a residential community near Muirfield Village Golf Club, Cauley sustained significant injuries: six broken ribs, a collapsed lung, a fracture in his left leg, and a concussion.
He returned to golf in October 2018 at the Safeway Open, and he qualified for the FedExCup Playoffs in both 2019 and 2020. However, in late 2020, complications developed with the six broken ribs, which led to more surgeries and significant time away from professional golf.
Cauley “Keeps it Going” for Four Rounds
While the early tournament leaders faltered, Cauley maintained his strong play. He posted rounds of 69-63-66-65 for a 17-under-par total.
Fitzpatrick eagled the par-5 18th hole to close with a 64 and finish at 15 under. Viktor Hovland shot 65 to finish third at 14 under. Four players tied for fourth, including third-round leader Jackson Suber, who finished with an even-par 70 atTPC Toronto at Osprey Valley.
Cauley, who began the final round one shot behind Suber, had three birdies and a bogey on his front nine, then charged into the lead with birdies on holes 11, 12 and 13. He added another birdie at 15 for a four-shot lead.
The highlight of that stretch was his chip-in from 93 yards for birdie after coming up short on the par-4 12th hole.
“The last few weeks, it’s like I kind of haven’t been able to keep it going,” Cauley said. “I’m playing really solid golf, but it’s like I’ll make a couple birdies and then make a bogey and it kind of kills my momentum. Where, this week it seemed like when I made a birdie, I was able to back it up with a couple and really kind of keep that momentum going.”
A bogey at the 17th when he failed to get up and down from a greenside bunker trimmed his lead over Fitzpatrick to two shots. Cauley played the finishing hole conservatively, laying up with his second shot, reaching the green in three and rolling his first putt 10 inches from the cup. After making the tap-in par for the victory, which earned him $1.764 million, Cauley celebrated with Kristi and their two young sons.
“That’s a moment I’ve thought a lot about. Even last year a couple times when I was in contention my family wasn’t with me and it would always cross my mind that hopefully for my first win everyone would be here,” Cauley said. “I had to try to not think about it a lot today. Obviously, with them being here and I was playing well, I really had to think almost on every hole about staying focused and not thinking about that celebration if I were to win.”
Fitzpatrick Takes FedExCup Lead
Fitzpatrick, who has three wins this season, moved ahead of Scottie Scheffler, who did not play in the tournament, to take the lead in the FedExCup standings.
He and Scheffler are at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club in Southampton, N.Y., for the U.S. Open. Fitzpatrick won the 2022 U.S. Open at The Country Club in Brookline, Mass., where he also won the U.S. Amateur. With an Open victory, Scheffler will complete the career Grand Slam.
Brooks Koepka, who won the 2018 U.S. Open at Shinnecock, withdrew from the Canadian Open after the third round with a mysterious injury to his left hand that prevented him from gripping the club properly. His status for the Open was uncertain.
