Bud Cauley birdied three consecutive holes on the back nine during the final round of the RBC Canadian Open on his way to shooting 5-under-par 65 and winning on the PGA Tour for the first time Sunday in Caledon, Ontario.
Cauley ended up at 17-under 263 for a two-stroke victory over England’s Matt Fitzpatrick.
Fitzpatrick shot 64, finishing his round with a 12-foot eagle putt on No. 18 after a bogey on the previous hole pretty much dashed his hopes of winning the tournament at rainy TPC Toronto at Osprey Valley’s North course.
Norway’s Viktor Hovland (65) claimed third at 14 under.
Cauley, 36, had placed third four times for his best finishes since turning pro in 2011.
Cauley used four birdies on a five-hole stretch (Nos. 11-15) to pull away from the pack for a three-shot lead.
Jimmy Stanger trailed by three going to No. 18, but an approach into the water cost him and he bogeyed the hole and settled for 67. At 13 under, he tied with Jackson Suber (70), Brice Garnett (68) and Sweden’s Jesper Svensson (68) for fourth place. Suber led Cauley by one shot through three rounds.
Defending champion Ryan Fox of New Zealand posted 68 and tied with two others — Canadian Sudarshan Yellamaraju (68) and South African Aldrich Potgieter (65) — at 12 under.
Second-round leader Ben James recovered from a disastrous third round to shoot 69 and tie for 54th place at 3 under in his PGA Tour debut.
Brooks Koepka, who was a co-leader after a first-round 64, withdrew prior to the final round citing a hand injury. After a 72 on Saturday, he was at 6 under through three rounds.
The start of Sunday’s round was pushed back because of concerns related to the weather forecast. Golfers were sent off the first and 10th tees in threesomes.
