March, Cahill played the Murray River Classic. He recorded a final round five-under-par 67 to leapfrog several players and win by one. Cahill did not play on the European Tour in 1985. However, in July he did attempt to qualify for the 1985 Open Championship. Cahill opened with a 69 at the first qualifying round. At the tournament proper, Cahill opened with a 72 to put him near the top ten. Cahill followed with a 74 to make the cut. The following day, Cahill shot a 71 to make the third round cut. He closed with a 72 to finish in the top 25. Cahill later referred to his victory at Murray River and his performance at the British Open as his only "bright spots" of the year. As of October, Cahill returned to Australia. His play was quite poor. Early in the season, he played the Queensland Open. At the pro-am, he shot a 66 (−6) to tie for second, one back of Bernhard Langer. However, Cahill did not play well in the tournament proper, opening with rounds of 72 and 77 to quickly fall out of contention. The following week, he played the New South Wales Open. He again opened poorly, with rounds of 79 and 71 to fall out of contention right away. The following week, he played the South Australian Open. He opened with rounds of 77 and 73 to again start way back. The following week, at the Australian Open, Cahill shot rounds of 79 and 75 to miss the cut. The next week, he played the U-Bix Classic. At the pro-am, Cahill played well and finished joint second, one behind Stewart Ginn. At the tournament proper, Cahill continued with good play, opening with a 66 to tie Mike Clayton for the lead. However, in the second round, playing against "blustery conditions," he shot a 74 and faded from there. For the rest of his career, he remained "disappointed with his form." In February 1986, he missed the cut at the Victorian Open and the Australian Masters. In March, he played the Rich River Classic. He made the cut though finished well back. In October, he re-joined the tour. At his first five events in the latter part of the year, Cahill made the cut in all of them but was unable to record any high finishes, consistently finishing outside the top 10. In November,