Hudson Swafford, a three-time PGA Tour winner and one of the earliest defectors to LIV Golf, is now staring down the long road back — and he’s not happy about what’s ahead.
In a recent appearance on the Golf.com Subpar podcast, the 37-year-old revealed that he’s effectively facing a five-year suspension from the PGA Tour, dating back to his first LIV event in June 2022. According to Swafford, the suspension is tied to five unsanctioned LIV events he played without receiving a conflicting-event release, before formally resigning his PGA Tour membership.
“I don’t know how you can come up with a five or five-and-a-half year suspension based on five events,” Swafford said. “We knew there’d be some repercussions… didn’t think it would be this fractured this long.”
Past Champion, Future Uncertain
Though Swafford holds Past Champion status due to his PGA Tour wins, he says that category may soon be irrelevant, especially as the Tour shifts toward smaller, signature fields and phases out opposite-field events — the very tournaments players like him would once lean on.
“They’ve kind of told me,” he said of PGA Tour officials. “I would go ahead and bet and say the Past Champions category is pretty much done after this year.”
Swafford, who missed most of 2023 with a hip injury, was hoping to return to PGA Tour competition after sitting out this season. But his conversations with the Tour, he says, have been “good back and forth,” followed by “wishy-washy” responses and no firm commitments.
He now expects he won’t be able to attempt a full comeback until late 2027, when he would have to go through Q-School or try his luck through Monday qualifying — a steep climb for a player with his résumé.
Timing Tied to Other LIV Contracts?
Swafford suggested that the length of his suspension may be less about the events he played, and more about timing, as many LIV contracts expire after the 2026 season.
“I know they’re basing that on a couple people’s contracts being up after the ’26 season,” he said. “So then they can kind of change rules in favor of everybody coming back.”
By 2027, a broader reintegration could be possible — but for now, he’s in limbo.
Frustration Inside LIV
Swafford also spoke candidly about disappointment within the LIV ranks, particularly after LIV withdrew its application for Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) points in early 2024 following its rejection in 2023.
“We’re giving up?” was Swafford’s reaction at a LIV player meeting, echoing frustration over the lack of a clear pathway back into the global ecosystem.
OWGR officials cited limited player pathways and no meaningful relegation as key reasons for denial — criticisms that struck at the heart of LIV’s closed-league structure.
“The PGA Tour Needed to Be Shanked Up a Bit”
Despite the setbacks, Swafford doesn’t regret joining LIV, even if the fallout has lasted longer than expected. He described the decision to jump in 2022 as agonizing, but felt LIV offered a necessary disruption.
“The PGA Tour needed to be shanked up a bit,” Swafford said. “I still think it needs to come together. I don’t know how it’s going to come together. But I don’t think this fracture is good for the game.”
With few options, Swafford is focused on staying ready — but knows he may have to wait years before getting another crack at the PGA Tour.
Until then, his career, like many others who crossed over to LIV, remains a case study in the unpredictable fallout of golf’s great civil war.
And as for a reunion between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf? Still fractured and unclear. Still far from over.
