PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. — Bud Cauley leads the PGA Tour. This might not have seemed likely a few years ago.
Cauley, who was seriously injured in a car accident in 2018 and is playing a Tour event for the third time in nearly four and a half years, shot a 6-under 65 on Friday at PGA National to take a one-stroke lead after 36 holes of the conscious Classic.
Cauley has 11 birdies and no bogeys in his last 27 holes. He made a 12-foot birdie on the par-5 18th on Friday as darkness began to settle, posting 11-under 131 and giving him his first 36-hole lead on tour since the Valero Texas Open in 2017.
“My expectation was to go out and compete, and I felt like my game was in a good place,” Cauley said. “Saying it is one thing, doing it is another. I'm very happy with the way I've played. I feel like my game has been going in the right direction. I've been hitting the ball well and I just needed some scoring things to start.”
Thomas Detry was not so lucky.
The Belgian shot 80 on Friday, missing the cut by 13 strokes and drawing attention for his explosion on the par-4 sixth.
Detry made a 50-foot birdie. He hit that putt about 6 feet past the hole, then missed the par putt, then missed a 3-footer for bogey, then missed a tap-in, then missed another 3 feet before tapping out to finally complete a six-putt. quadruple bogey 8.
He became the fifth player to six-putt a single hole in the last 10 seasons on tour. The other four (Danny Lee at the 2020 US Open, Phil Mickelson and Scott Stallings at the 2018 US Open and Ernie Els at the 2016 Masters) came in major championships. (Mickelson incurred a 2-stroke penalty, which is why he was officially listed with six putts on that hole.)
It was a misstep on a rare day off for Detry, who entered Week 29 in the FedEx Cup standings thanks to a pair of top-25 finishes in the early part of the 2024 schedule.
Austin Eckroat (67) and Garrick Higgo (65) were a shot away. Kevin Yu (67) and Victor Perez (66) were tied for fourth at 9 under, while Shane Lowry and world No. 2 Rory McIlroy (both 67s for the second day in a row) were part of a three-way group. rhythm beats.
Cauley broke six ribs and suffered other injuries in the 2018 accident and did not play on the tour for four months. Everything seemed fine for a couple of years…until he wasn't. Bone had grown on the plates that were installed in his ribs, a series of problems arose, multiple surgeries were needed and Cauley couldn't help but wonder if his best golf was behind him.
“There were a lot of moments where I thought my career was over,” Cauley said. “Being back here playing and playing well, it's nice. It makes me a lot happier that I kept going and didn't stop trying.”
A pair of top-35 finishes at the Korn Ferry Tour in January gave him some momentum. He made the cut on his return to tour in Phoenix last month and now finds himself in contention at PGA National.
Of the top five midway players, only one is ranked in the top 100: Perez is ranked 97th. Eckroat is ranked 101st.
“Solid,” Eckroat told Golf Channel after his four-birdie, no-bogey round. “Really stress-free golf for the most part… Just solid all around.”
Rickie Fowler came into the weekend, shooting a 67 after a 71 on Thursday.
“I needed to shoot a decent round to make sure I made it to the weekend,” Fowler said.
His first hole was more than decent.
The 2017 winner at PGA National opened on the back nine, and the par-5 10th, which played as a par-4 last year, is primed for birdies. Fowler flirted with an albatross; his approach from 193 yards passed just to the right of the cup and he stopped close enough to eagle it.
He started the first round tied for 96th; he was tied for 36th after Friday.
Chad Ramey, who entered Friday tied for the lead, shot 72 and was 6 under par. Defending champion Chris Kirk (70) easily made the cut at 5 under, tied for 23rd with, among others, Billy Horschel (71), Matt Fitzpatrick (67) and Nick Dunlap, whose round of 70 was highlighted by an ace on the par 3, 7th hole.
“I think someone on the balcony of one of the houses screamed and we thought he probably came in,” Dunlap said.
First-round co-leader SH Kim shot 74, 10 strokes worse than Thursday, and was 4 under par.
Information from ESPN Stats & Information and The Associated Press was used in this report.
