Cauley's hopes of earning Tour card fading

• By Rex Hoggard
• Oct 16, 2011 3:49 PM ET

ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. – The wave of youthful triumphs on Sunday was cut short by a balky putter, at least if the winds and status quo remain unchanged at Sea Island Resort.

Bud Cauley’s bid to keep his PGA Tour run going with another top-10 finish at the McGladrey Classic ended when he pushed his birdie putt at the last hole to finish at 8 under, which was tied for 12^th when the 21-year-old walked off the golf course.

Without the aid of a leaderboard overhaul, Cauley will miss the finale next week at Disney and will have to hope the $671,000 he’s earned this year with limited access is enough to keep him inside the top 125 in earnings which would assure him Tour status next year.

“It’s always been my dream to play the PGA Tour,” said Cauley, who is trying to become the sixth player since 1980 to earn a Tour card straight out of college without going to Q-School. “If that’s the case I look forward to it.”

Cauley, who was not granted a sponsor exemption into Disney and currently has earned enough to rank 114^th on the money list, dropped out of the hunt with bogeys at Nos. 13 and 14 but responded with birdies at the 15^th and 17^th holes.

“He’s the real deal,” said Jason Bohn, who played with Cauley on Sunday. “I don’t think I’ve fist pumped for another player that much in my life.”

Even if Cauley would have made his birdie putt at the last hole it likely wouldn’t have been enough to push him into the top 10, which had climbed to 10 under by late afternoon.

Since leaving the University of Alabama earlier this summer, Cauley has played eight Tour events, finished third at the Frys.com Open and fourth at the Viking Classic and missed just one cut in Reno.