After Jack Nicklaus visited the crash scene in Dublin, Ohio, where a car in which Bud Cauley was a passenger flipped leaving him with serious injuries, and after Nicklaus visited Cauley in the hospital, he had one thought:
“We were hoping that Bud would live and survive, let alone play golf,” Nicklaus said.
That was June 1, 2018, hours after Cauley missed the cut at Nicklaus’ Memorial Tournament. He was in the rear seat when the car hit a culvert, left the ground, slammed into three trees and flipped before landing in a front yard that was close to Nicklaus’ home in Muirfield Village. When rescuers arrived, Bud — who suffered five broken ribs, a broken left leg and a collapsed lung — was unable to move. He was struggling to breathe.
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Cauley’s story now has gone from inspirational to storybook. All the pain and sweat and tears that goes along with numerous surgeries and complications that sidelined him for more than three years already paid off when Cauley regained his PGA Tour card 15 months ago. But he took that to another level June 14 with his first PGA Tour win at the Canadian Open.
Cauley separated himself from the pack on the back nine of the final round, closing with a 5-under 65 to finish the tournament at 17-under, two shots ahead of North Palm Beach’s Matt Fitzpatrick.
“I’d see him going out to try to practice,” Nicklaus said about Cauley, the Palm Beach Gardens resident who is a member of Nicklaus’ Bear’s Club. “And I’d see him coming back in discouraged. But he stayed with it. And he got through it, and my gosh, what a miracle. Not only did he come through it, but then to win is unbelievable.”
Jack Nicklaus, Bud Cauley have a special bond
The lives of Jack Nicklaus and Bud Cauley were forever intertwined on that horrific night.
Then, about three years later, Cauley married Kristi McDonald, whose mother, Patty McDonald, is CEO of the Nicklaus Children’s Health Care Foundation. Jack and Barbara Nicklaus, who live in North Palm Beach, were guests at the wedding. Barbara Nicklaus threw Kristi’s bridal shower and later hosted her baby shower.
“The Nicklaus family is like family to our family,” said Patty, who has worked for the Nicklaus family for 22 years.
Patty was watching the emotional scene on the green at the TPC Toronto at Osprey Valley with her husband, Jack. They saw the tears when their daughter and son-in-law embraced, and saw their two young grandchildren steal the show during the post-match interview.
“It meant everything,” Patty said about Bud’s win. “It meant he was back and he was able to do what he loves so much to do and to be able to share that with his wife and his two boys, meant the world to him.”
Also watching were Jack and Barbara.
“I know he went through several years of trying to (recover) with the ribs and his legs and everything else,” Jack said. “That he finally was able to start playing again, which was a miracle to start with. And then to turn around and play very well …
“He said he stopped at the door and hasn’t been able to finish this year. But, you know, he kept knocking on the door, and by gosh, he’d turn around and finished one. And he finished it in great fashion. And we were very happy and proud for him.”
Nicklaus had little doubt Bud would finish, except for one fleeting moment. Bud’s tee shot on No. 18 landed in the rough and was sitting in high grass.
“I said to Barbara, ‘he could go right under this thing and totally whiff it,’ ” Jack said. “And he had one foot way down. He made good contact with the ball to get it up to where he got it. And then I said, ‘OK, don’t spin it back off the green. Don’t spin it back off the green.’
“Then, of course, the tournament was over.”
‘He just wanted to, if nothing else, play golf with his boys’
It was a few months after the crash when Bud met Kristi at Jumby Bay Island Grill in Jupiter, Bud was unaware Kristi’s family was so close to the Nicklaus family.
Bud’s recovery was on schedule and he returned to the PGA Tour in four months. But his ribs never completely healed and he was forced back into surgery 22 months after the accident to remove plates from his chest.
A series of complications — including doctors finding bone had grown over the plates — and infections led to several more surgeries. He was sidelined more than three years, much of it dealing with pain.
“He did every type of medical intervention he could do,” Patty said about Bud’s long journey. “Visited places all across the country for advice. Exercise. Diet. He just did everything. He made it a full-time job. That’s what he did for three years.
“He just wanted to, if nothing else, play golf with his boys. To be able to come back and then win a tournament and have them there with him all together just was really special.”
Bud, Kristi and the boys had set out for about a week trip when Bud left to play the Memorial Tournament. After finishing T22, Bud then played in the 36-hole U.S. Open final qualifying on June 8 in Westerville, Ohio. He missed out on a playoff by one shot.
None of that matters now. Cauley gained entry in the U.S. Open with his win in Canada and the Cauley family headed to Shinnecock Hills in Southampton, N.Y., for his 11th start in a major since turning pro in 2011. The U.S. Open starts June 18.
Nicklaus posted a heartfelt message to Cauley on social media after sending him a text message. In his text, and in the post, he reminded Cauley he accomplished something Nicklaus never had despite winning 73 times on the PGA Tour, including 18 major championships.
“I just told him how great it was,” Nicklaus said. “I also told him, I said, ‘well, now you got something I don’t. That’s a Canadian Open win.’ “
Tom D’Angelo is a senior sports columnist and reporter for The Palm Beach Post. He can be reached at tdangelo@pbpost.com.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Bud Cauley’s incredible PGA Tour win, fueled by Jack Nicklaus bond
Reporting by Tom D’Angelo, Palm Beach Post / Palm Beach Post
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By Tom D'Angelo, Palm Beach Post | USA TODAY Network
