For most of his career, Bud Cauley has been the answer to a trivia question nobody wanted to ask: how many tries does it take to finally break through on the PGA Tour? The answer turned out to be 239. After 15 seasons of close calls, a near-fatal car accident, and a comeback that took years to materialize, Cauley walked into the RBC Canadian Open this week as a name veteran golf sickos knew and casual fans didn't, and walked out of it with a trophy and a toddler in his arms.
The whole thing pivoted on a single shot. With the leaderboard bunched up Sunday, Cauley stepped into a greenside bunker on the par-4 12th, splashed it out, and watched the ball trickle into the cup for the solo lead. From there it was a coronation, not a battle.
The bunker hole-out that flipped Cauley from co-leader to solo leader at -16.
A few holes later he was at -17 and up by 2, then up by 4, and the rest of the field was effectively playing for second. Matt Fitzpatrick chipped in trying to chase him down. Ryan Fox, the defending champ, spun in an eagle. Jackson Suber held the solo lead for a stretch with 8 to play. None of it mattered, because Cauley's back nine wouldn't crack.
Cauley pushing the lead to 4 with the back nine winding down.
While Cauley was running away with it, Wyndham Clark was running his own sideshow. After getting booed by Canadian fans Saturday for rocking a USA Hockey Jack Hughes #86 jersey he'd bought off a fan in the gallery, Clark stepped to the stadium-style 'Rink' hole Sunday, drained a birdie, and gave the crowd an 'I can't hear you' for the trouble. Heel turn complete.
Clark answering the Canadian boobirds with a birdie and a taunt.
But the lasting image isn't Clark's troll job. It's Cauley on the 18th green with his caddie, his wife, and his kids — tearing up while his blond toddler clung to him in the CBS post-round interview. 15 seasons is a long time to wait for a feeling. Cauley got it on Father's Day weekend with his son on the mic. You'd have to be made of stone not to like that one.
The wholesome CBS post-win interview with Cauley's son on his hip.
239 starts. First W. Hell of a way to get it.