Hudson Swafford stared out at the brutal weather hitting the RSM Classic last month, feeling both relieved and a bit nostalgic. The tournament was happening just miles from his home on St. Simons Island, Georgia, but for him, it might as well have been on another planet.
“I wouldn’t want to be playing today,” he laughed, watching players battle 30 mph winds off the Atlantic. “I miss seeing a lot of my buddies, for sure, miss playing at home. Maybe not the weather they’re having today.”
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Swafford’s situation is complicated. He was one of the first 17 players suspended by the PGA Tour in June 2022 after joining LIV Golf. Now, he wants to come back – but nobody seems to know if that’s even possible.
The path back to the PGA Tour has been anything but clear for LIV players.
“I tried to go back last year,” Swafford told GolfChannel.com. “I talked to everyone I could. They could never give me an answer.”
He’s willing to serve a suspension. He’ll pay fines. He just wants to know what those terms would be.
According to earlier documents, players were supposed to face a one-year suspension after their final LIV event. For Swafford, that would mean becoming eligible again in September 2025.
But the Tour won’t confirm if that’s still the case. They won’t even say if he’ll keep his status as a past champion.
It’s been a tough road for the 37-year-old. He finished near the bottom in LIV Golf last year – 55th out of 57 players – while battling a hip injury that derailed his game.
“I’ve been struggling,” he admitted. “First thing I want to do is have fun with golf again.”
His options are limited. He could try to stay in LIV through their promotions event, or play on the Asian Tour’s International Series. But what he really wants is clarity about returning to the PGA Tour.
This isn’t just about Swafford. His case could set a precedent for how the Tour handles other LIV players wanting to return.
“I know I’m not the first guy they wanted back, but I feel like they need guys to start coming back,” he said.
The situation gets even more complicated when considering bigger names. “Guys like Brooks [Koepka] and Bryson [DeChambeau] aren’t going to sit out a year to come back,” Swafford pointed out.
Meanwhile, some LIV players have already returned to the European DP World Tour after paying fines. This disparity frustrates Swafford.
“I get they’ve taken the hard stance, but DP World Tour has gone the other way,” he said. “Golf isn’t big enough to be completely separated. The best players need to play against each other more often than four times a year.”
For now, Swafford keeps watching PGA Tour events from afar, hoping for answers about his future in the sport he loves.
