SAN MARTIN, Calif. -- In the early stages of the third round, former world No. 1 Ernie Els turned to playing partner Bud Cauley and tried to make casual conversation.
"So, Bud," Els said, "when do you plan to turn pro."
Being a respectful kid of 21 years, Cauley politely told Els that he had turned pro at the U.S. Open in June, after leaving the golf program at Alabama a year early.
"I think by the back nine he knew I was a professional," Cauley cracked Sunday.
If not then, he knows now -- thanks to a closing 66, Cauley finished third at the Frys.com Open, one spot ahead of the South African Hall of Famer at CordeValle Golf Club.
With his $340,000 payday outside San Jose, William Cauley III all but cemented his PGA Tour card for 2012, and is set to become only the sixth player since 1980 to earn a full exemption out of college while skipping Qualifying School.
Impressively, Cauley has played in seven PGA Tour-sanctioned events and missed only one cut. With a top-10 finish this week, he is automatically exempt into next week's McGladrey Classic in Georgia.
Non-member players can only receive seven sponsor exemptions each year. Cauley has basically sealed the deal while using only five of them.
With his earlier winnings, Cauley has $671,150, which would stand 114th on the money list. With two weeks left, he would need to fall out of the top 125 before he's need to enter Q-school, and the odds of dropping that many slots are highly unlikely.
Cauley, a diminutive player who was a full head shorter than Els, said he never really thought about playing well enough to skip Q-school. He just wanted to secure sponsor exemptions into as many events as he could.
"You know, I really had never given it much thought," he said. "I was just going to try and give myself as many opportunities as I could to play. I knew I could compete. Obviously getting starts out here and playing is really the most difficult thing. So I really didn't think about that, just trying to give myself as many opportunities as I could."
The only players who have earned cards and skipped Q-school completely are Tiger Woods, Ryan Moore, Phil Mickelson, Justin Leonard and Gary Hallberg.
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