Early LIV defector Hudson Swafford says he’s banned from the PGA Tour until 2027 — one year for each of the five events he played without a release
Hudson Swafford has three PGA Tour victories, including two wins at The American Express (Image: Getty)
Hudson Swafford, one of the earliest high-profile players to defect from the PGA Tour to LIV Golf in 2022, now claims he faces a five‑year suspension from the PGA Tour and won’t be eligible to return until 2027.
The three-time PGA Tour winner, who was relegated from LIV Golf after a disappointing 2024 season, detailed the timeline and reasoning during an episode of Golf.com’s SubPar podcast. “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.
Unlike other LIV defectors, players like Laurie Canter or James Piot, who have faced one-year bans before returning to play PGA-sanctioned tournaments, Swafford says his case is different because he previously held PGA membership and competed during the Tour’s regular schedule. It comes as LIV Golf is set to dramatically increase the league’s tournament purses for 2026.
“Some guys who didn’t have any status … it’s a hard one‑year [suspension] … but then you can come back and play,” he observed. “But the problem is… if I can come back and play in ’27, what does ’27 on the PGA Tour really look like?”
Swafford also suggested that the extended ban aligns with contractual timelines: “They’ve said I’m suspended until [January] 2027, which I know they’re basing on a couple people’s contracts being up after the ’26 season, so then they can kind of change rules in favor of everybody coming back.”
Both Bryson DeChambeau and Brooks Koepka’s LIV Golf contracts are set to expire at the end of the 2026 season.
Reflecting on his decision to join LIV Golf, Swafford said he expected consequences — but not a long-term exclusion: “We knew there would be some repercussions. I knew I’d be suspended for a little while. Didn’t know how long. … I didn’t think it would be this fractured this long.”
Swafford, who was sidelined much of 2023 with hip surgery and relegated as a wildcard in 2024, has been exploring options to return via Q-School or Monday qualifying events, even though his current world ranking stands outside the top 2,400 due to inactivity.
Hudson Swafford opens up about a possible return to the PGA Tour. 👀 pic.twitter.com/Nqo5A8Q53x
— Subpar (@golf_subpar) August 6, 2025
He also voiced frustration over LIV’s failed efforts to secure Official World Golf Ranking points. During a conversation with former OWGR chairman Peter Dawson, Swafford had hoped LIV would gain recognition.
Instead, he said LIV withdrew its application, leaving players disenfranchised. “We’re giving up?” he recalled asking. “We came over on the consensus that you were going to fight for us no matter what.”
Swafford’s predicament contrasts with other former LIV players, some of whom have filed antitrust litigation against the PGA Tour and later returned via exemptions or public relations efforts. But Swafford says his negotiation has been “wishy‑washy” and nothing is “set in stone.”
He closed on a hopeful note about reunification: “As a golf fan, you want to see the best playing together. I don’t think this fracture is good for the game.”