What happened to Bud Cauley? Exploring the injuries from his car accident in 2018

Bud Cauley recently made his return to the PGA Tour after a three-year-long break. Despite his long absence from the sport, Cauley shot two impressive rounds at the ongoing Cognizant Classic to take the sole lead after the first two days.

It is an impressive feat for Cauley to be even playing golf, considering his career might have ended long ago. In 2018, Bud Cauley was involved in an unfortunate car accident, which led to numerous injuries that plagued him for years. According to the PGA Tour, he suffered six broken ribs, a collapsed right lung and a broken left leg.

Bud Cauley underwent surgery but returned to the PGA Tour for two years. However, things took a turn for the worse in 2020, when Cauley had to once again take a break due to complications from his injuries.

He had issues with the plates that were placed in his chest after the accident and was in and out of doctors' offices due to pain in his right side. His complications saw him undergo several more surgeries on his chest and ribs. Speaking via the PGA Tour, Cauley said:

“Everything that could go wrong seemed to go wrong."

However, after successful treatment and rehabilitation, Cauley made his comeback to the PGA Tour at the 2024 Phoenix Open.

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Justin Thomas excited to see good friend Bud Cauley back playing pro golf

Justin Thomas recently expressed his excitement at Bud Cauley being back and playing again. Speaking about his close friend via the PGA Tour, Thomas said:

“I’m so, so excited Bud is back. He’s one of my best friends in the world. I'm really happy and proud of him because I know he's had a lot of time. I know how good Bud is and I know his raw talent. I just wanted to keep him positive and keep telling him because my thing I always said is it's going to work out, just time will heal."

Cauley played on the Korn Ferry Tour before ultimately making his way to the PGA Tour.