Former LIV Golf star Hudson Swafford is eyeing a return to the PGA Tour, but he will have to wait until 2027.
The American became one of the first golfers to join the Saudi-backed circuit in 2022, going on to play every single tournament during that inaugural season.
Swafford failed to finish better than 30th during those nine individual events, ending up in the drop zone.
Due to this switch, his PGA Tour membership was suspended indefinitely. Succes has yet to materialise on the LIV circuit, however. He failed to make a single start during the 2023 season, before suffering relegation last year.
As such, Swafford is looking to make a return to the PGA Tour, but it may be some time before he is able to tee it up.
Hudson Swafford suffered PGA Tour ban after joining LIV
During his time on the PGA Tour, Swafford won three times between 2017 and 2022, yet his return will be delayed until at least 2027.
The American played in the first five LIV events prior to resigning his PGA Tour membership and he believes this is where the five-year ban has come from.
“I don’t know how you can come up with a five or five-and-a-half year suspension based on I played five events while the PGA Tour season was going on in ’22 that I wasn’t able to get media-released for,” he said when on the Subpar podcast.
“We knew there would be some repercussions. I knew I’d be suspended for a little while. Didn’t know how long. There were definitely some unknowns there, but I didn’t think [the pro game] would be this fractured this long, to be honest with you. I don’t think any of us did.
Swafford is now looking to put his LIV Golf misery behind in favour of a fresh start back on the PGA Tour, but it appears as though he is going to have to wait.
“I’ve had some good back and forth with the PGA Tour, but then some wishy-washy. It’s still not set in stone. They’ve said I’m suspended until [January} 2027, which I know they’re basing that on a couple [LIV] players’ contracts being up after the ’26 season, so then they can kind of change rules in favor of everybody coming back.”
Due to his limited playing time, the 37-year-old is currently ranked outside of the world’s top-2,400.
It is a long road back for the three-time tour winner, but if he can remain injury free, Swafford has every chance of returning to the PGA Tour in 2027.
