CALEDON, Ont. — Somehow, the RBC Canadian Open did it again. Some sporting victories leave us in disbelief as the world’s best accomplish the impossible. Other times, a great sports moment simply reminds us of what is possible. This week at TPC Toronto wasn’t about Rory McIlroy elevating our national open to new heights, it wasn’t about Nick Taylor becoming a national hero, it was Bud Cauley proving that winning begins by showing up over and over with no guarantee your day will ever come.
Cauley’s day did finally come on Sunday in his 239th start on the PGA Tour, eight years after a car accident threatened his career, although it required an incredible chip-in birdie, an impossible bounce off a golf cart, and a bunker shot at the final hole that briefly left him lying face down in the sand. All this before the victory walk up the 18th fairway he had been waiting his entire life for turned into a mini-sprint.
Two Shots Clear
In the end, Cauley raised the Canadian Open trophy after shooting a five-under 65 to finish at 17-under par, two shots clear of major champion Matt Fitzpatrick who shot a Sunday 64. Cauley’s name takes its place engraved alongside greats such as McIlroy, Tiger Woods, Lee Trevino, Arnold Palmer, Sam Snead, Byron Nelson, Walter Hagen and so many others to win this tournament since it began in 1904.
“It feels amazing,” Cauley said. “I haven’t had a chance to look at (the trophy), but I watched, probably since the mid ’90s, almost every one of these events, so I’m well aware of all the past champions and all the names on this trophy. To add my name alongside those is pretty incredible.”
A popular player on tour, messages of support were pouring in on social media, including one from Alabama native Justin Thomas who referred to his friend by his given name of William Carl Cauley III. Thomas wrote, “C’mon young William 5 good swings and enjoy that walk up 18!!!!!” and followed that up after the win with, “I love @BudCauley. Let’s go!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”
Viktor Hovland (65) finished in solo third at 14-under par, one shot clear of a group of four players at 13-under.
Yellamaraju Low Canadian
Sudarshan Yellamaraju (68) won the Rivermeade Trophy as low Canadian despite bogeying his final hole to finish tied for 8th at 12 under.
On a Sunday afternoon that played out like a microcosm of his career, Cauley played his front nine in two-under par before rolling off three birdies in a row beginning with an iron shot to inside four feet at the par-3 11th hole. After finding trouble off the tee at the par-4 12th, and more trouble when his recovery shot landed deep in the rough short of the greenside bunker, he chipped in for the unlikeliest birdie of his week. After a wonderful birdie at the long par-4 13th, Cauley seemed firmly in control with a lead that would reach four shots.
If the 36-year-old’s facial expression didn’t seem to match his position in the tournament, he could be excused. Cauley came on the radar of the golf world two decades ago as the No. 1 ranked junior golfer and member of the U.S. Junior Ryder Cup team. He was a three-time first-team All-American at the University of Alabama and played in the 2009 Walker Cup where he went undefeated. His strong finishes after turning professional allowed him to go directly to the PGA Tour from college in 2011. Fifteen years and 238 PGA Tour events later, he came to Canada still looking for his first win.
“I don’t think this game owes you anything,” he said. “I’ve played the game my whole life. Basically everyone I know is through the game of golf. So not just guys out here, but even my friends at home that don’t play professional golf. … I’m lucky to play this game and to get to be around all these guys every week too.”
A car accident in 2018 derailed his career when he suffered a broken leg, broken ribs and a punctured lung. His recovery was slow and five years later Cauley was still seeing specialists in attempts to get to the bottom of the pain he was in.
“There were times when I was hurt that we really weren’t sure if I was going to be able to play again. 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,” he said. “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 was right to take nothing for granted, because with the tournament in his hands he sent his drive at the 16th hole sailing hard right and seemingly deep into the dense Caledon, Ont. trees. Golfers are very used to the tell-tale sounds of a golf course and the crack his ball made did not sound like a tree, and it wasn’t. His drive was saved by a television golf cart and his ball ricocheted not just to safety, but to a friendly lie in the rough where he would set up his final birdie of the week.
After a bogey on the 17th hole, and a lengthy wait on the par-5 18th tee with a two stroke lead, Cauley’s drive found the long fescue grass on the edge of a fairway bunker. Once again, what seemed like a formality was anything but. After seriously investigating his limited options, he swiped hard at the ball, slipping in the sand and landing face first at the bunker’s edge. Though not graceful, his strike was pure and found the safety of the fairway.
Surely, from 119 yards away in two shots and needing only to make a six at the 18th hole, the tournament was over. Then again, just minutes earlier Yellamaraju and Jackson Suber spun their approach shots back into the water on the soft 18th green. Cauley’s wedge stopped just inches from discovering the same fate, and his champion’s walk to the green was put in fast forward as he nervously jogged up the fairway to mark his ball on the green that was surrounded by a rain-battered crowd that included his wife and kids.
“That’s a moment I’ve thought a lot about,” Cauley said. “Even last year a couple times when I was in contention my family wasn’t with me and it would always kind of cross my mind that hopefully for my first win everyone would be here. I looked over and saw Kristi, Cooper, and Miles standing there, and I started to tear up. I tried to look down. I had a short putt, but I was trying and couldn’t see, and so I thought I needed to clear my eyes before I could go up there and tap in.”
