Hudson Swafford Responds To Scottie Scheffler

Throughout 2025, talks about a merger between LIV Golf and the PGA Tour have been frequent and unfruitful.  At several points, talks have cropped up and quickly deflated after reaching a pressure point.  This has led to more divides in the sport, and at one point, Scottie Scheffler said this.

“If the fans are upset, then look at the guys that left.”

Scheffler has put the reason behind the split in the sport solely on the back of LIV Golf charging onto the scene.  That and the golfers who jumped ship onto the new league.  However, there is disagreement coming from the LIV Golfers.  Specifically from Hudson Swafford.

Swafford On Scheffler’s Comments

Hudson Swafford is one of the original group of golfers who joined LIV back in 2022.  Like all the others, he is subject to the ban from the PGA Tour.  A ban that won’t expire until 2027.  Swafford heard Scheffler’s comments and disagrees that the LIV players have divided the sport.  Many LIV players have said that they would love to get back onto the PGA Tour.  This is why a lot of players were looking forward to what opportunities the merger could bring.  Granted, players like James Piot took matters into their own hands to get onto the Tour, but that came at the cost of leaving LIV.  

Hudson Swafford On Who Is To Blame

While on the Golf’s SubPar podcast, Hudson Swafford took Scottie Scheffler’s comments and said who he thought was responsible.  As stated before, he and multiple other LIV golfers are willing to play.  A handful even participate in the majors.  Sure, they won’t be able to stick around for the whole season, but they can still play in a few events to keep things interesting.  What Swafford believes is really keeping the sport divided is the PGA policy.

“So they have created this narrative that the LIV guys don’t care about the PGA Tour and don’t want to be a part of it, when in all reality, everybody would go back and play a number of events on Tour, but that’s just not allowed.”

It is true that if any LIV golfer is to try to return to the PGA Tour, he would have to wait through a suspension period.  Laurie Canter went through this suspension period.  Even golfers who align with neither league are going through this period, such as Wesley Bryan.

PGA Tour Still Sour Toward LIV Golfers

Despite all the talk of a merger to reunite the sport, and players on both sides eager to play against each other, the suspension is a bit of a sticking point.  Especially for LIV players like Hudson Swafford.  He looks at the comments Scheffler has made and believes the anger is misdirected.  With the merger falling through, LIV golfers are looking at the suspension policies and seeing that as the true barrier keeping the sport divided.  It is something that may not change for some time.  Brian Rolapp is taking charge and might change that policy, but there is still some animosity towards LIV Golf for poaching some of the PGA’s best players during its inception.  Those tensions are still a long way from being alleviated.