Hudson Swafford hit the headlines recently after it emerged that he could return to the PGA Tour after his spell with LIV Golf.
Swafford was one of the original group of players who jumped ship from the PGA Tour to join LIV Golf in 2022.
There is still ongoing talk of a potential merger between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf, but as things stand it seems the two parties are a long way away from reaching an agreement.
Numerous PGA Tour players including Lucas Glover do not want the LIV golfers back playing with them, and that’s understandable given the huge fees many of them received to join the Saudi-backed golf league.
However, Swafford is one man who could make a return to the PGA Tour.
He received a multi-year suspension from the PGA Tour when he joined LIV, but is hopeful that he could return to play on his former tour in 2027.
Swafford is somewhat in limbo right now after he lost his playing privileges with LIV.
PGA Tour considering rule change which could impact past champions in 2027
Swafford has been speaking to GOLF’s Subpar Podcast about his current situation.
Having lost his LIV card, and his ban from the PGA Tour running through to 2027, Swafford is in somewhat of a tight spot right now.
Swafford explained how the PGA Tour could make one big change in two seasons’ time with reduced fields expected to be the new normal.
He said: “I know some guys who didn’t have any status on the PGA Tour, it’s a hard one-year [suspension], not PGA Tour-sanctioned events, but then you can come back and play. But problem is if I come in and talk to them, it’s like, ‘O.K., I can come back and play in ’27, but what does ’27 on the PGA Tour really look like?’
“It is no more opposite field events? They’re already reducing fields. So I would go ahead and bet and say that the past champions category is pretty much done going forward after this year. We can agree or disagree, but it just seems like that and they’ve kind of told me.”
The bottom line here is that Swafford made his bed, now he has to lie in it.
He didn’t have to jump ship to LIV three years ago, but he made the decision to do so, now he has to live by that.
Hudson Swafford has regressed since he left the PGA Tour
The 37-year-old from Lakeland, Florida, won three times on the PGA Tour.
He has played in eight major championships and has missed seven cuts, with his best finish coming at The Masters in 2022 when he ended up in a tie for 30th.
His best finish on LIV Golf in 2024 was a tie for 35th in Nashville, while he ended up in a tie for 30th at LIV London during the Saudi-backed golf league’s first ever event.
Swafford’s record over the past few years has been less than impressive, and he will surely now be regretting his decision to join LIV Golf from the PGA Tour.
His last professional win came at the American Express Championship in January 2022, and he will be hoping to get the chance to at least earn back his PGA Tour card in 2027.
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