William Carl "Bud" Cauley III (born March 16, 1990) is an American professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour.
Early life Cauley was born on March 16, 1990 in Daytona Beach, Florida, where he was home schooled by his parents. He was ranked top-five nationally in junior golf and among top 15 in the world. As a junior golfer, Cauley was a member of the 2006 Junior Ryder Cup, and the 2008 USA Junior World Golf Championships team. He was also a co-medalist at the 2008 Toyota World Junior Amateur Championships. When Cauley moved up to amateur events he was ranked No. 1 in junior golf.
Amateur career Cauley played college golf for the University of Alabama golf team, where he became one of the best in the program's history. He was a three-time first-team Golfweek All-American during his three years at Alabama. He was also a finalist for the Hogan Award, given to the best college golfer, all three years at Alabama. Cauley was a member of the 2009 U.S. Walker Cup team, where he posted a 3-0-1 record. In 2009, Cauley was the Southeastern Conference's Freshman of the Year. That year he captured his first collegiate victory at the United States Collegiate Championship. In 2008 he won the Players Amateur, qualifying him for the 2010 Verizon Heritage on the PGA Tour. He played in the 2009 and 2010 U.S. Amateur; in 2009 Cauley beat the world's No. 1 amateur, Rickie Fowler, in the first round of match play. He also won the Terra Cotta Invitational in 2008.
Professional career After finishing his junior year at Alabama, Cauley qualified for the 2011 U.S. Open and turned professional, foregoing his senior season.Ex-Tide star Bud Cauley making his pro debut today at U.S. Open He made the cut at the U.S. Open, finishing T63 and guaranteeing a bypass to the second stage of Q School.Former Alabama golfer Bud Cauley could skip 'Q' school Cauley made seven cuts in eight PGA Tour starts that year, including a T4 at the Viking Classic and solo third at the Frys.com Open, earning a total of $735,150. He finished the equivalent of 116th on the 2011 money list, joining Gary Hallberg, Scott Verplank, Phil Mickelson, Justin Leonard, Ryan Moore, and Tiger Woods as those who avoided Q school and went directly to the PGA Tour after college.
In 2012, Cauley had four top-10 finishes; he was in the top 100 in the Official World Golf Ranking by the end of July of that year.
In 2013, Cauley made only 10 cuts in 24 events. He played in the Web.com Tour Finals and finished 18th to retain his PGA Tour card for 2014.
In June 2018, Cauley suffered five broken ribs, a broken left leg and a collapsed lung in car crash in Dublin, Ohio. In October 2018, Cauley returned to golf and he played some events over the next two years. However, he developed medical complications in September 2020. He did not play professionally until a Korn Ferry Tour event in January 2024.
In June 2026, Cauley won the RBC Canadian Open for his first PGA Tour victory in his 239th start.
Professional wins (2) PGA Tour wins (1) No.DateTournamentWinning scoreMargin ofvictoryRunner-up1Jun 14, 2026RBC Canadian Open−17 (69-63-66-65=263)2 strokes Matt Fitzpatrick
Web.com Tour wins (1) Legend Finals event (1) Other Web.com Tour (0) No.DateTournamentWinning scoreMargin ofvictoryRunner-up1Aug 31, 2014Hotel Fitness Championship−20 (66-70-67-65=268)1 stroke Colt Knost
Results in major championships Results not in chronological order in 2020. Tournament2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018Masters TournamentU.S. OpenT63CUTThe Open ChampionshipT32PGA ChampionshipCUTT33 Tournament20192020202120222023202420252026Masters TournamentPGA ChampionshipT37T72T26U.S. OpenCUTT56The Open ChampionshipNTCUTT18
CUT = missed the half-way cut "T" = tied for place NT = no tournament due to COVID-19 pandemic
Summary Tournament Wins 2nd 3rd Top-5 Top-10 Top-25 Events Cuts madeMasters Tournament 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0PGA Championship 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 4U.S. Open 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 2The Open Championship 0 0 0 0 0 1 3 2Totals 0 0 0 0 0 1 12 8 Most consecutive cuts made – 3 (twice, current)
Results in The Players Championship Tournament20122013201420152016201720182019The Players ChampionshipCUTCUTCUTT47 Tournament2020202120222023202420252026The Players ChampionshipCT6T32
CUT = missed the halfway cut "T" indicates a tie for a place C = canceled after the first round due to the COVID-19 pandemic
U.S. national team appearances Amateur Junior Ryder Cup: 2006 Palmer Cup: 2009 Walker Cup: 2009 (winners)
See also 2013 Web.com Tour Finals graduates 2014 Web.com Tour Finals graduates
References
External links
Profile on University of Alabama's official site