Every golfer in the industry has had their fair share of struggles. Whether it be missing the tournament because of an illness or going on a long break because of a gruesome injury; the latter was the case with PGA Tour golfer Bud Cauley, who is currently playing at the Sanderson Farms Championship. Cauley returned to the PGA Tour at the WM Phoenix Open, which was his first start since the 2020 Fortinet Championship. Yes, the golfer was on a break for almost 4 years.

Why you ask? Well, the 34-year-old golfer’s career had faced a roadblock after a devastating car accident in June 2018, which left him with six broken ribs, a broken leg, and a collapsed lung. Cauley’s rib injury since then, never fully healed even after loads of treatment. This caused him so much pain and discomfort that the golfer had to undergo another surgery three years later. In April 2021, Cauley underwent painful surgery to remove plates from his chest, but it didn’t go as planned, or as the golfer said, “Out of the blue, my (right) side started to hurt again”.

The bone had grown over the plates which made it impossible for the doctors to remove. This led to complications and with time more surgeries followed. And every one of them was unsuccessful and extremely painful which resulted in additional declining health issues. “So stitched me back up, said, ‘I think we’ll be OK, we took a little scar tissue out, you’ll be fine,’ and then like 12 days later, my incision popped open,” said the golfer per Golf Week. Cauley also recalled when his wife Christy noticed a wet stain on his shirt and took it off only to find out something utterly painful, “Take my shirt off, there’s just a hole in the side of my chest.” Later Cauley also developed a seroma which is a a painful fluid buildup and C. diff. colitis which is a potentially life-threatening infection of the colon.

When it was looking like nothing could happen now as these setbacks were leading to a long and challenging recovery, the golfer stayed strong. Cauley had almost given up hope of recovering from his injuries. But after his latest surgery, he felt hopeful again.

How many events did Bud Cauley play in the 2024 season?

Recovery wasn’t easy but Bud Cauley has shown great resilience in fighting off the injury and is back on the greens like nothing happened. Cauley has played 16 events so far in the year 2024, 14 on the PGA Tour and 2 on the Korn Ferry Tour. He hasn’t been in his best shape, for obvious reasons, however, his current performance at the Sanderson Farms Championship surely deserves an applause. Fans have noticed that almost nothing has changed in the way the golfer used to handle the tournaments and well Cauley thinks the same.

“My golf swing is virtually the same. I’m lucky that even though I’ve had so many things happen to my side, I haven’t lost any speed or anything, and my range of motion is the same,” said the golfer. He is currently resting on the T4 spot with an excellent score of 16 under par. So do you think the golfer will be able to win the tournament? Let us know in the comment section below!