Bud Cauley

Bud Cauley is a PGA Tour pro from United States rated 79 overall (grade B) in the 2025–26 pool — a Tour Winner build headlined by short game at A-, the standout of the nine zones on this card.

• Power sits at B for Cauley, a mild soft spot across the 2025–26 pool: 59 of the other 95 players in the pool rate higher. How far the ball goes off the tee — long hitters shorten every hole.
• At B+, Cauley's accuracy rating is a clear strength (79th percentile of the 2025–26 pool) — 20 of the other 95 players in the pool rate higher. How often the ball finds the fairway and stays out of trouble.
• At B+, Cauley's iron play rating is on the stronger side of average (61st percentile of the 2025–26 pool) — 37 of the other 95 players in the pool rate higher. Precision from the fairway into the green — the single biggest driver of low scores.
• At A-, Cauley's short game rating is comfortably above tour-average (87th percentile of the 2025–26 pool) — only 12 players in the pool rate higher. Scrambling around the green — chips, pitches, and bunker shots that save par.
• Putting sits at C for Cauley, the clearest weak point in the profile across the 2025–26 pool: 77 of the other 95 players in the pool rate higher. Holing putts, especially the ones inside ten feet that turn pars into birdies.
• Course IQ sits at B+ for Cauley, a shade above the pool average across the 2025–26 pool: 36 of the other 95 players in the pool rate higher. Course management and shot selection — playing the smart shot, not just the bold one.
• Nerve B+ — a shade above the pool average in the 2025–26 pool; 46 of the other 95 players in the pool rate higher. Composure in contention — how a golfer performs with the tournament on the line.
• Consistency B+ — a shade above the pool average in the 2025–26 pool; 42 of the other 95 players in the pool rate higher. How tightly a golfer's scores cluster around their average, round after round.
• Engine sits at B+ for Cauley, modestly above average across the 2025–26 pool: 46 of the other 95 players in the pool rate higher. Stamina and durability across a long season — fewer withdrawals, less late-year fade.

Tour Winner. A solid tour winner's profile — no glaring weakness, a rating comfortably above the pool average, and enough all-around game to be a threat most weeks without a single standout attribute.

The closest attribute profiles in the 2025–26 pool belong to Talor Gooch (93% similar), Daniel Berger (90% similar) and Justin Thomas (90% similar) — three builds that would feel familiar to play.

• Talor Gooch,
• Daniel Berger,
• Justin Thomas

This profile's course fit lines up best with The Open Championship (Major), U.S. Open (Major) and the Memorial Tournament (Marquee) — the three events on the schedule that reward this exact mix of attributes the most.

• The Open Championship — Major
• U.S. Open — Major
• the Memorial Tournament — Marquee

At $4M (C tier), Bud Cauley leaves $41M of the $45M Salary Cap budget for the other eight zones — room for 4 more S-tier chips, or 34 E-tier picks, or any mix in between. Good complementary picks to shore up the softer zones (putting, power and accuracy) include Sam Burns ($8M), Rory McIlroy ($10M) and Scottie Scheffler ($10M).

• Sam Burns ($8M),
• Rory McIlroy ($10M),
• Scottie Scheffler ($10M)

Comeback story; 1 win 2026. Ratings on this card are editorial judgment, not official statistics — see the methodology page for how they are derived.

Every rating on this page is a 1–10 editorial judgment, not a live statistic — see how ratings and the season simulation work.