Alabama alum Bud Cauley finished T-46, shooting a 4-under-par in the opening tournament of the PGA Tour’s 2018-2019 season at the Safeway Open in Napa, California.
The Safeway Open marked Cauley’s return to the PGA Tour after suffering injuries from a car crash on June 1, 2018 after missing the cut at The Memorial in Dublin, Ohio.
Cauley was a passenger when the car veered out of control and went airborne, knocking over trees and eventually landing in a ditch, injuring all involved.
The crash would leave Cauley with a collapsed lung, a concussion, six broken ribs and a fractured left leg.
After months of physical therapy in his residence in Jupiter, Fla. Cauley was able to slowly regain his ability to swing the club and get back on the course.
Despite Cauley missing a large chunk of the PGA Tour season with his injuries, he still accumulated enough points to keep his PGA Tour card for this season without obtaining a medical exemption.
At the Safeway Open, Cauley displayed his mastery on and around the greens finish fifth in shots around the green with 1.056 and twelfth in putts per green in regulation.
Cauley will take the next few weeks off before traveling to the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open in Las Vegas on Nov. 1-4 in search of his first PGA Tour victory.
Photo courtesy of UA Athletics
