During a weather delay at The Players Championship on Sunday, former Alabama All-American Justin Thomas said he “would do some really, really weird things for Bud (Cauley) to win today. Yeah, I probably wanted it too bad. I was telling (wife) Jill last night, I was like a nervous parent. I just want him to play well so bad.”
Also an Alabama All-American and Thomas’ former roommate as PGA Tour pros, Cauley was one shot back entering the final round. But he didn’t make Monday morning’s playoff at TPC Sawgrass, where Rory McIlroy and J.J. Spaun will decide the champion.
McIlroy and Spaun finished four rounds at 12-under par. With a 2-over 74 on Sunday, Cauley finished tied for sixth at 9 under for the tournament.
Cauley didn’t get the trophy or the winner’s check, but he did earn PGA Tour membership for the rest of the season.
Cauley suffered a collapsed lung, concussion, six broken ribs and a fractured left leg in an automobile accident in 2018. Finally seeming to put that ordeal behind him last year, Cauley was given a medical extension – 27 starts to earn enough FedEx Cups to retain his PGA Tour card.
In his 21 tournaments before the Players Championship, Cauley finished in the top 20 once by placing fifth in the Sanderson Farms Championship on Oct. 6. That was worth 100 FedEx Cup points. But the Players Championship pays points like the Majors do, and with sixth place worth 275 points, Cauley pushed past the total needed to play the rest of the season.
“It’s kind of hard right now to think about that,” Cauley said after Sunday’s round. “I’m a little disappointed with how the day went. But, yeah, I mean, I did a lot of things well this week to finish top 10, and a tournament this big is a great step forward for me. And I’ll try to build on that the rest of the year. …
“I don’t look at it so much as an accomplishment, but it’s just, like, a step forward. Like I said, I did a lot of things well, and I’m playing next week, so I get the chance to go back out and try to clean up some of the things that I feel like would have helped me this week and, hopefully, keep doing the good things good and see where that takes me.”
Cauley was playing on his 35th birthday on Sunday, in the tournament only because former Ardmore High School, UAB and Alabama golfer Lee Hodges withdrew from the event.
Stories by Mark Inabinett
Cauley earned first-team All-American recognition from Golfweek in 2009, 2010 and 2011 at Alabama. After he qualified for the 2011 U.S. Open, Cauley decided to turn pro, skipping his senior season.
Cauley played in seven other PGA Tour events that season on sponsor’s exemptions and won enough money to earn a playing card for 2012. He became the sixth non-tour member to receive a PGA Tour card without going to qualifying school.
But Cauley was in an automobile accident on June 1, 2018, at The Memorial in Columbus, Ohio. According to the police report, Cauley was a passenger in a BMW M6 that went out of control, hit a culvert and flew airborne. The car careened off a large tree, knocked over several smaller trees and eventually landed in a ditch.
Despite his extensive injuries, Cauley came back the next season to play in 25 events and 20 more in the 2020 season.
But his pain persisted, and surgeries didn’t help. Instead, Cauley wound up with a seroma -- a buildup of fluid under the skin after surgery -- and an inflammation of the colon. He didn’t play in a PGA Tour event between the Safeway Open in September 2020 and the WM Phoenix Open in February 2024.
“I’ve always believed that I can compete with the best guys in the world,” Cauley said. “And I should be, hopefully, winning tournaments and playing on President’s Cup teams or Ryder Cup teams. That’s always been my dream, and I still believe that I can do that. Yeah, this helps a lot. I felt like I contended this week and still feel like I made a lot of mistakes that I could clean up pretty easily, so I think that’s what I’ll take from this the most is that I was right there and it wasn’t like I was playing perfect. I felt like there were a lot of things I could improve. …
“I have a lot more confidence, I think, leaving here today than what I showed up with, which I think will help me throughout the year. And I’m really excited, I’m really happy that I’m playing next week, just so that I can maybe take tomorrow off, but then get right back at it Tuesday, and try to clean up some of these things.”
Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on X at @AMarkG1.