Bud Cauley secures maiden PGA title at Canadian Open to cap emotional comeback

[p]The 36-year-old American conjured four of his seven birdies on the back nine at TPC Toronto at Osprey Valley, firing a five-under par 65 for a 17-under total of 263 and a two-stroke triumph over former US Open champion [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/fitzpatrick-matthew/6whOHmtf/"]Matt Fitzpatrick[/a] of England.[/p][p][b]"So many people helped me get here," [/b]an emotional [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/cauley-bud/8I0WYuDD/"]Cauley[/a] said.[/p][p][b]"Once I got the opportunity to start playing again I just told myself that I was going to try to just do everything the right way and give myself the best chance."[/b][/p][p]Cauley, a star amateur and one of the game's brightest prospects when he arrived on tour 15 years ago, suffered six broken ribs, a collapsed lung and a broken left leg in his 2018 accident.[/p][p]He painstakingly worked his way back to the tour, but in 2021, complications from post-crash reconstructive surgery again took him off the course, an absence that would last until 2024.[/p][p][b]"I put my wife, Kristi, through so much during those dark times. It's just nice to have a little success as a kind of thank you."[/b][/p][embed guid="9f9f074c-0341-4885-af10-895a53390122" url="https://x.com/PGATOUR/status/2066294554857243027?s=20" social-type="twitter" /][p]Cauley started the day one off the lead and jumped to the top of the leaderboard with a birdie chip-in from the rough for birdie at the 12th.[/p][p]It was his fifth birdie of the day and his second in a row. He rolled in a 13-foot birdie at 13 and had a four-shot lead after a 16-foot birdie putt at 15.[/p][p][b]He made a lucky escape at 16, where his errant tee shot hit a cart to land in the rough while avoiding the trees, but his lead was down to two after a bogey at 17.[/b][/p][p]At 18, his tee shot landed in deep rough above a bunker. His awkward shot out found the fairway and his third landed on the slope of the green that had funnelled multiple balls into the water.[/p][p]His ball stayed up and Cauley hot-footed it to the green to mark it, finally two-putting for par to close out the win.[/p][embed guid="56d755d6-c487-41c4-9999-7c855668a023" url="https://x.com/PGATOUR/status/2066283871897858406/video/1" social-type="twitter" /][p][b]"I'm very proud of the way I kind of kept going," [/b]Cauley said after capturing his first win in his 239th start.[/p][p]The victory earned him a place in the US Open that tees off on Thursday at Shinnecock Hills.[/p][p]Fitzpatrick, the 2022 US Open champion who has three PGA wins already this season, tuned up for the third major of the year with a six-under par final round that included six birdies and an eagle at the par-five 18th.[/p][p]Norway's [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/hovland-viktor/lWxyqX2t/"]Viktor Hovland[/a] was third after a 65 for 266.[/p]