In 2018, it looked like Bud Cauley’s golf career may have come to an end.
After playing in the Memorial Tournament in Ohio, Cauley was in a car that had a significant single-vehicle accident. He was badly injured—broken ribs and left leg, a collapsed lung and a concussion. In the end, he underwent numerous surgeries and setbacks and wasn’t healthy until 2024. Even then it wasn’t clear he’d ever be the player that was expected when he turned pro in 2011.
But that’s all in the rearview mirror now, as Cauley recorded four birdies on the back nine at TPC Toronto at Osprey Valley to finish at 17-under par and win the RBC Canadian Open for his first victory on the PGA Tour. It was a win that Cauley admits he wasn’t sure was ever going to come.
“There were times when I was hurt that we really weren’t sure if I was going to be able to play again,” he said after his round. “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 shot 65 on Sunday, a day when the tournament was started earlier because of questionable weather, with rain falling throughout the fourth round. Cauley held off Matthew Fitzpatrick, who eagled the par 5 finishing hole to shoot 64 and finish two shots behind.
“I would have taken it at the start of the week,” said Fitzpatrick, one of the favourites heading into the U.S. Open. “I felt like there was a lot of good stuff in there, just needed to sort of have it come out.”
Canuck’s In The Hunt
While it’s been three years since Nick Taylor won the RBC Canadian Open, becoming the first Canadian since 1954 to take the title, golfers from the Great White North continue to be a factor at the tournament. While he’s hardly a household name, Korn Ferry player Matthew Anderson from Mississauga, Ont., made himself a factor in the tournament throughout the front nine on Sunday. While he faded a touch—a double bogey on the 10th didn’t help—he finished in a tie for 11th, a strong finish in a year when he’s only made 5 cuts in 13 events on the Korn Ferry Tour.
“I mean if I didn’t believe it before I absolutely know that I can win out here,” Anderson said, who made $218,050 for the week. “I proved that to myself.”
The low Canadian was Mississauga’s Sudarshan Yellamaraju, who recorded his third Top 10 finish on his rookie year on the PGA Tour. A misstep on the final hole cost Yellamaraju his first Top 5 as he heads to the U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills. “This is kind of one of the few weeks that or probably the week that I’ve had a lot of people cheering me on rather than maybe the other players in my group,” he said. “It was a pretty cool experience.”
While Justin Matthews of Little Britain, Ont., also stumbled coming in, he was the only amateur to make the cut while playing out of a course he considers his home club.
The Future of the RBC Canadian Open
With the PGA Tour discussing the notion of having two tiers of events—and cutting the first tier to a reported 20 tournaments—there are suddenly significant questions about the future of the tournament. Media coverage of the issue cropped up a couple of times during the week, but most are staying tight lipped about the future of the tournament. Rumours suggest the tier one tournaments would cost sponsors more and have limited fields. Many expect that means exemptions handed out by Golf Canada, which operates the RBC Canadian Open, would likely disappear and fewer Canadians would be found in the country’s national open. While RBC announced an extension of its sponsorship of the tournament (the bank also sponsors the Heritage event in South Carolina) there are some big questions about the future of the tournament and whether the bank is willing to pay a significant increase to continue backing the event.