Bud Cauley on brink of first PGA Tour title after horror car crash nearly ended career

Bud Cauley heads into the final round of the RBC Canadian Open just one shot off the lead and within touching distance of a maiden PGA Tour title.

For most players, a first victory on the PGA Tour would represent the fulfilment of a lifelong ambition. For Cauley, it would also complete one of the most remarkable comeback stories in professional golf.

The 36-year-old American was once considered one of the brightest prospects in the game, bursting out the blocks 15 years ago with five top-15 finishes in his first 11 starts to earn full PGA Tour status. 

But after several near misses for a first win on the circuit, Cauley's career was turned upside down by a devastating car crash during the 2018 Memorial Tournament.

The accident left Cauley with six broken ribs, a collapsed right lung and a fractured left leg, injuries so severe he was simply grateful to survive.

"I was just so thankful to be alive," Cauley said following the crash.

While many players would have struggled to return from such trauma, Cauley battled his way back onto the PGA Tour. 

Yet the challenges did not end there.

Just before the 2021 Masters, Cauley was forced to step away from the game again after suffering complications linked to the plates that had been inserted into his chest following the accident.

What followed was a lengthy medical nightmare.

Doctors initially believed the pain may have been related to the plates in his chest and attempted a procedure to remove them.

However, the operation was unsuccessful because bone had grown over the plates.

Cauley was sent home believing the issue had been resolved.

"So they stitched me back up, said, 'I think we'll be OK, we took a little scar tissue out, you'll be fine,' and then like 12 days later, my incision popped open," Cauley.told the PGA Tour. 

The situation quickly worsened.

After noticing something was wrong, Cauley's wife Kristi discovered a serious problem.

"I take my shirt off, there's just a hole in the side of my chest," Cauley recalled.

He returned to hospital and underwent multiple further surgeries, but the complications continued. 

Cauley later suffered a seroma, a build-up of fluid where tissue had been removed, as well as a C. difficile infection.

"Everything that could go wrong seemed to go wrong," he said.

The setbacks kept him away from competition for a prolonged period and left serious doubts over whether he would ever be able to return to the level many expected when he turned professional in 2011.

But Cauley refused to give up.

Watch him tell his story here:

After eventually returning to action at the start of 2024, he gradually began rebuilding both his game and his confidence. 

Now ranked 68th in the world, Cauley has once again established himself as a regular contender on the PGA Tour.

That resilience has brought him to TPC Toronto this week, where he starts Sunday's final round on 12-under par and just one shot behind 54-hole leader Jackson Suber.

Despite a number of close calls throughout his career, Cauley has never lifted a PGA Tour trophy.

That could finally change on Sunday.

Yet the perspective of the player chasing that breakthrough has changed considerably from the ambitious young golfer who first arrived on Tour more than a decade ago.

Marriage, family life and the health battles he has endured have reshaped his priorities.

"Since I was injured and playing golf now and having gotten married and starting a family, my perspective has changed and my priorities are in order," Cauley said ahead of the final round at TPC Toronto. 

"So it's not the most important thing in the world to me, but it is very important. I work really hard at it, so that's why I come out here and play — to try to win tournaments."

After surviving a car crash that nearly cost him his career, and enduring years of painful medical complications, Cauley now stands just 18 holes away from the moment he has chased ever since turning professional.

A first PGA Tour title would not just be a victory. It would be the culmination of one of golf's most inspiring comeback stories.