First Bud Cauley Tour Win is a Popular One
JAGA would like to congratulate one of the PGA TOUR’s most popular figures and a son of Jacksonville, Bud Cauley, on his long overdue first TOUR win at the RBC Canadian Open on June 14th. We would also like to remind our readers of the many accomplishments the son of a U.S. Navy diver enjoyed as a junior and amateur golfer as time has a way of making us lose sight of things that were once very familiar to us.
- Bud grew up playing the game at Windy Harbor GC on Naval Station Mayport and Windsor Parke GC.
- Became the No. 1 ranked junior in the world toward the end of his junior playing days.
- Finished T3 at the inaugural Junior PLAYERS Championship in 2007 at TPC Sawgrass.
- Was a member of the 2006 Junior Ryder Cup team and 2008 USA Junior World Golf Championship team.
- Was co-medalist at the 2008 Toyota World Junior Championships.
- Played collegiately at the U. of Alabama for three years (2008-11), earning Golfweek first-team All-America honors all three years.
- Played on the 2009 U.S. Walker Cup team, posting a 3-0-1 record.
- Turned professional after his junior year at UA and earned his TOUR card in 2011.
The 36-year-old who was born in Daytona Beach and moved with his family to Jacksonville at age five was enjoying a winless but very successful PGA TOUR career ($7.7 million in earnings) when he was severely injured in a car accident in June of 2018, sidelining him on and off until 2024. In the last 2 ½ years, Cauley, who now lives in Jupiter, has made a remarkable recovery, collecting seven top 10s in 54 starts and an additional $7.5 million in earnings to climb to No. 40 in the Official World Golf Ranking. Welcome back, Bud! And now, welcome to the PGA TOUR winner’s circle!
The Cauley family (Kristy, Bud and sons Cooper and Miles) with the RBC Canadian Open trophy
Credit: Getty Images[SEE BUD CAULEY JUNIOR GOLF PHOTO NEAR THE END OF NEWS]
JAGA Tournaments
• Keaton Fannin of Ponte Vedra Beach fired a co-tournament low 69 in the final round to secure a three-shot win in the boys’ portion of one of the North Florida Junior Golf Tour’s premier events, the Greater Jacksonville Junior Championship, held July 23-24 at Eagle Harbor GC. Fannin’s two-day total of 140 was four-under par. Brendan Walrath of Jacksonville was the runner-up at 143. Ethan Grossman of Jacksonville G&CC and Christopher Grota of St. Johns G&CC were another shot back at 144. Grota equaled Fannin’s 69, which also came on the final day.
Nina Santiago of Saint Johns outlasted Simryn Chokshi of San Jose CC and Riley Powell of St. Johns G&CC to capture the girls’ title by one shot. Santiago posted 150 (+6).
JAGA is the presenting sponsor of the Greater Jacksonville Junior Championship.
For complete results, click HERE.
• Entries for the JAGA Jacksonville Amateur Championship presented by Pinnacle Financial Partners close July 10th. The 65th edition of the championship is July 18-20 at Sawgrass CC. UNF’s Danny Erickson will defend his 2025 title. Several members of the winning 2025 Underwood Cup team will be competing – Chase Baldwin, Sam Geise, Sam Golden, Tyler Gulliksen, Graham Nichols, Matt Saxton and Mike Smith, the 2021 Jax Am champion – as will 2026 FSGA Florida Senior Open champion Paul Tesori. World Amateur Golf Ranking points will be awarded to the top finishers. For details and to enter, click HERE.
• First Coast Women’s Amateur presented by Brooks Rehabilitation entries will close on July 6th at 5 p.m. A few spots remain available. There are four levels of competition – Championship, Senior Championship, Senior Field and Super-Senior. Jacksonville G&CC will host the First Coast’s premier women’s championship July 20-22. World Amateur Ranking Points are on the line. The respective 2025 champions are featured in the photo below. For more information, click HERE.
JAGA News
• JAGA conducted its annual Kid/Am at the Ponte Vedra Inn and Club/Lagoon Course on June 22nd. A number of prominent college and junior golfers participated, along with “Eagles” from the Moore-Myers Children’s Fund. This year’s event was sponsored by Scott Stutzman and son Hudson. The winning teams were: Gross Competition (58) – Gregg Deiboldt, Danny Eckles, John Caden and Jenna Wilson; and Net Competition (57) – Jeff Adams, Rufus Dowell, Ronit Singh and Krishna Clark.
(L-R) Scott Stutzman, Hudson Stutzman, William Lyle, Peter Karpen
Northern PGA Chapter News
• San Jose CC and its director of golf Todd Bork recently announced that the popular and highly respected 2024 North Florida PGA Hall of Fame inductee will be retiring from the club. The search for a new head golf professional is underway. Bork will continue to oversee the golf operation until the new hire is on board and then be available to assist the transition in any way he can for up to 18 months.
A PGA Class A member since December 1988, he has overseen the golf operation at SJCC the last 26-plus years.
JAGA will be among the many organizations and individuals who will miss working with Bork. “Todd and his father formerly played in the JAGA Father-Son tournament and now he plays with his three kids in the JAGA Family Championship,” said JAGA president and fellow PGA of America member Duke Butler III. “While serving the membership at San Jose Country Club for close to three decades he has been an active leader for the North Florida PGA Section and a strong supporter of JAGA, having hosted many JAGA tournaments over the years and made countless other contributions. We thank Todd for all he has done on behalf of JAGA and know he will continue to be active in and supportive of the Northeast Florida golf community.”
After 26-plus years as director of golf at San Jose CC, Todd Bork will be retiring.
• Marshall Collins is leaving Sawgrass CC to run the teaching facility at the GC at South Hampton.
• Mac Harris (Timuquana CC) and Dominic Barron Holden (Hammock Beach Resort) posted 60 (-11) to win the Chapter Pro-Pro on June 29th at St. Johns GC. They were four better than Matthew Sheehan(St. Johns G&CC) and Angela Sheehan (Hammock Dunes) and five better than Josh Wolfe (Ponte Vedra Inn & Club) and Aaron Russell (Sawgrass CC). Another shot back at 66 were two teams – Michael Mattiace(UNF) and Colin Monagle (UST Mamiya) and Sean McGauley (Westside Golf Center) and Jarred Garcia(Fleming Island GC).
• Two of the First Coast’s most prominent teaching professionals were featured in the July/August 2026 edition of Golf Digest with tips – Dan Carraher of the Golf Club of South Hampton (page 30) on more driver distance and PGA member Jordan Dempsey of the PGA TOUR Performance Center at TPC Sawgrass (page 38) on controlling distance from bunkers.
FSGA Tournaments
• Ponte Vedra HS graduate and UNF signee Easton Oliva won the 72nd Florida Boys’ Junior Championship at Cabot Citrus Farm in Brookville on July 2nd. He fired 68-67-70—205 (-11) to beat Noah Peens of Clearwater by one shot. Rising Tocoi Creek HS junior Ambrose Kinnare and Fleming Island grad and Ryan Houckwere T4 at 209. Also finishing in the top 10 (T9) were Charlie Hipp of Saint Johns and Cooper Franklin of Ponte Vedra Beach. For complete results, click HERE.
Florida State Junior Amateur Champion, Easton Oliva
Credit: FSGA• Ponte Vedra Beach resident and U. of South Carolina rising junior Brock Blais came up one shot short in the 109th Florida Amateur Championship at Dye Preserve & The Club at Admiral’s Cove in Jupiter. The 2022 Times-Union boys high school player of the year bogeyed the final hole to finish T2. Incoming Auburn freshman Hampton Beebe of West Palm Beach took home the title with a score of 281 (-6). Blais’s final-round 69 was the day’s second-best score. Other locals recording top-25 finishes were another former T-U player of the year (2020) Andrew Riley of St. Johns (T11) and Colton Swartz of Fleming Island, Jordan Batchelor of Jacksonville and Landon Durham of Ponte Vedra Beach, all T21. For complete results, click HERE.
Florida State Amateur runner-up, Brock Blais of Ponte Vedra Beach
Credit: U. of South Carolina.
• Deerwood CC hosted the Senior Amateur Match Play Championship June 22-25. Mark Spencerof Jacksonville shared co-medalist honors with Joe Alfieri of Lutz at 140 (-4). Charles Kirk of Middleburg was a shot back at T3. Four other area players also advanced to the 32-player match-play portion of the championship – David Reynolds (144) and Billy Lodise (146), both of St. Augustine, Richard Ames (147) of Orange Park and JAGA vice president of administration Jim Loftin (147) of St. Augustine. Spencer and Kirk won their first- and second-round matches before bowing in the quarterfinals. Reynolds won his first-round match, then lost to the eventual champion, Glenn Przybylski of Lecanto. Ames and Loftin were first-round victims. Spencer (2022), Kirk (2023) and Ames (2024) are all recent champions of the JAGA Senior Amateur presented by Lennar. 81 players teed off at Deerwood. For complete results, click HERE.
• Paul Tesori of St. Augustine partnered with former UF teammate Will McClave of Newberry to shoot rounds of 67-67—134 (-10) and win the Forty & Over Four-Ball at LPGA International/Hills Course in Daytona Beach by two, topping a field of 33 teams. On May 1st, Tesori won another FSGA title, the 49th Florida Senior Open at Mayacoo Lakes CC, also by two shots. For complete Forty & Over Four-Ball results, click HERE.
• The 80th Florida Open Championship featuring the state’s top pros and amateurs will be decided July 17-19 at Longboat Key Club near Sarasota. UF golf coach J.C. Deacon is the defending champion and a three-time winner (2017, ’20, ’25) of the event. The past champions list, which dates back to 1906 (Walter Travis), is chock full of PGA TOUR winners. Click HERE.
• Sam Robinson of Jacksonville Beach was runner-up to Bobby Lundquist of Sanford in the age 75+ division of the Super-Senior Amateur Match Play Championship at Eagle Creek G&CC in Naples. Robinson lost the finale 2 & 1.
Miles Russell Shines on the National Stage
Russell went on to survive the 36-hole cut by two shots at treacherous Shinnecock Hills GC, posting 72-71—143 (+3), to become the second youngest to make the 36-hole Open cut since World War II (Beau Hossler, 2012). He was paired with former major champions Padraig Harrington and Cameron Smith.
Adding rounds of 74-70 on the weekend, the young lefty’s T39 finish was bettered by only two other amateurs (T23 – Ryder Cowan and Jackson Koivun) by two shots.
In perhaps his most impressive stat of the week, he posted no score higher than a bogey on any of the 72 holes he played.
Among the top-ten finishers, only Wyndham Clark, Sam Burns and Gary Woodlandmatched Miles’ feat.
Russell’s best move of the week was conspiring with his caddie Ramon Bescansa on Father’s Day to hand the golf bag over to Joe Russell at the gallery rope line after his son hit his approach shot onto the 72ndgreen. A touch of class that NBC was tipped off would happen and provided nice coverage of. It was an idea that was passed along to Miles by his Jacksonville-area friend and former PGA TOUR player Steven Wheatcroft, who did the same thing with his dad at the 2010 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach.
With his impressive performance, Russell advanced five more spots up the World Amateur Golf Ranking list in the last few weeks, from 10th to fifth.
Always on the go, Russell swung around the Long Island Sound to Rhode Island the next weekend to finish T5 in the prestigious Northeast Amateur Invitational.
Joe Russell (L), father of Miles Russell, switches with caddie Ramon Bescansa (R) on the 18th hole of the final round of the 2026 U.S. Open on Father’s Day.
Credit: USGA
Other Tournaments
• Jacksonville Jaguar quarterback Trevor Lawrence will play in the American Century Championship for the third time July 10-12 in Lake Tahoe, Nev. NBC will air the final two rounds of the celebrity tournament.
Jaguar QB Trevor Lawrence will make his third appearance in the American Century Championship on NBC, July 10-12
Credit: Getty Images
The PNC Championship was always the highlight event of the year for the entire Kuchar clan, including Matt’s mom, Meg. It took on an even higher meaning this past December when Matt and 18-year-old son Cameron took home the PNC title, with Matt stuffing his final iron shot to a foot. “For me to hit it to a foot makes me think there’s something more out there,” said Matt as he teared up on the final green. Kuchar turned 48 on June 21st.
(L-R) Carson, Matt, Peter and Cameron Kuchar.
Credit: Florida Times-Union
• Murray Brothers Caddyshack restaurant at World Golf Village announced it closed its doors on June 27th after 25 years in operation, as reported by the Florida Times-Union. No reason was cited.
Murray Brothers Caddyshack at WGV closed June 27th after 25 years.
TPC Sawgrass group travels to England
Credit: TPC Sawgrass
College Golf
• Florida Atlantic University sophomores Nancy Cox of Ponte Vedra Beach and Maddie Rathjen of St. Augustine were named to the American Women’s Golf All-Conference team. Cox led the Owls with a 73.33 scoring average in 2025-26.
After two years at FAU, Cox has decided to transfer to and play for the University of Oklahoma in the fall after visiting several schools. Born in England, Nancy was the Florida Times-Union’s 2023 girls’ high school player of the year and a 2024 graduate of Ponte Vedra High School. Her father, Stephen Cox, is the PGA TOUR’s Vice President of Rules and Tournament Administration. The OU women closed out the 2025-26 campaign No. 29 in the Scorecard national rankings. Cox will be joined at OU by incoming freshman Lucas Gimenez of Jacksonville. Later this month, she will defend her First Coast Women’s Amateur title at Jacksonville G&CC.
Ponte Vedra HS grad Nancy Cox is transferring to the U. of Oklahoma.
Credit: U. of Oklahoma
Almost all champions begin their careers playing junior golf. This photo from the 2002 Greater Jacksonville Junior Championship features four of them, including 2021 JAGA Jacksonville Amateur Championship presented by Pinnacle Financial Partners winner Mike Smith and last month’s first-time PGA TOUR winner Bud Cauley.
(L-R) Mike Smith, Patrick Griffin, Bud Cauley, Micah Jacobson
Photo Courtesy of Robert J. Smith
Kudos to the USGA
“Good on” the USGA for dismissing some of the unruly characters from Shinnecock Hills who were openly and loudly cheering against Wyndham Clark on Sunday of the U.S. Open. This kind of “stuff” has no place in the great game of golf!
Correction
A photo caption in last month’s NEWS incorrectly identified Kathy Tucker as Kelly Tucker. JAGA regrets the error.
JAGA directors Fred Seely (Timuquana CC) and Jeff Adams (TPC Sawgrass).Photos: Credit “JAGA” unless otherwise noted.
Reporting from Garry Smits’ Florida Times-Union “Golf Notebook” is used in NEWS.