Golfer ‘axed from LIV’ and banned from PGA missed five months worried about ‘career-ender’ | Golf | Sport

A LIV Golf star axed from the breakaway tour and banned from PGA events for 12 months once raised fears that he would suffer a ‘career-ending’ injury. Hudson Swafford endured a nightmare 2024 season and faces a major problem ahead of next year.

The American has reportedly not had his LIV contract renewed after bosses decided against keeping him on their roster of high-profile stars. The 37-year-old finished tied for 36th in the first LIV event of the year and failed to better that result across 12 further meetings.

Players axed from the LIV Golf tour face a dilemma attempting to get back into elite-level golf. That is because they are ineligible from competing on the PGA Tour for 12 months as LIV events are considered ‘unauthorised’.

It comes after Swafford also had a tough 2023 season. He had been sidelined from that February due to hip surgery and only returned in the late summer, but only as a reserve.

His first appearance of that year came at Greenbrier, where he admitted that he could have returned to action earlier. However, Swafford feared that he might suffer a ‘career-ender’ by hurting his back.

“It’s good to be back in the atmosphere of a LIV event,” he said at the time.

“I didn’t want to play hurt. I didn’t want to actually end up hurting my back and make it a career-ending deal. So, I just went ahead and did what I thought was best.”

Swafford was used as a wildcard this year, preventing him from the drop despite finishing in the relegation zone. His contract has not been renewed, though, and it seems he will not play on the LIV tour in any capacity next year.

It is unclear what Swafford, a three-time PGA tournament champion, will do next. One option is to compete in the Asian Tour’s International Series, which offers a route into LIV Golf for whoever finishes top of the standings.

Meanwhile, the PGA Tour and Saudi-backed LIV Golf remain in talks over a merger, but a full deal is yet to be agreed. In the summer of 2023, both tours announced that a framework agreement was in place for them to co-exist, potentially ending two years of tension in professional golf.

Recent meetings between key figures are reported to have concluded with positive signals that a merger can still happen.