Local Product, Hudson Swafford, Making His Move on the PGA Tour

Local golf professional Hudson Swafford, who grew up playing golf at Capital City Country Club and was a stand-out on the Maclay High School golf team, is making his move on the PGA Tour.

The last time we caught up with Swafford, he was climbing up the leader board of the Quicken Loans National at Congressional in June 2014.

ALSO ON TR: Hudson Swafford:Getting Over the Hump

He finished in 11th place at that tournament and went on to complete the year with a couple of promising outings and won $513,883 in prize money after playing in 26 events.

This year, through only 13 events, he has already earned $558,470, aided by the $151,200 he picked up this past weekend at the prestigious Arnold Palmer Invitational at the Bay Hill Club in Orlando, Fl.

But the road to this weekends stellar performance started with a disappointing 75 on Thursday. His parents, Dave and Jean Swafford, who traveled to Orlando to watch their son, checked out of their hotel Friday morning, anticipating another missed cut.

But after shooting a 66 in the second round and making the cut, his parents had to scramble to find accommodations for the weekend.

His sister, Alva Striplin-Swafford, a recently elected member of the Leon County School Board, also was sent into panic mode. She was vacationing in Cape San Blas when the weekend began to unfold.

“Hudson has been struggling with making cuts recently and the 75 was a downer” said his sister.

But the 66 got everyone’s attention and the 68 on Saturday sent Striplin-Swafford scrambling.

She packed her bags and headed back to Tallahassee late Saturday night and traveled to Orlando early Sunday to catch the final round and she was not disappointed. Hudson shot a 68!

“He played flawlessly after the first round. It was great to see him play so well on Sunday”, said Striplin-Swafford. “Hopefully this performance will help him relax in the coming weeks.”

Swafford finished 11th at Bay Hill, tied with someone you might of heard of – Rory McIlory.

Swafford will tee it up next at the Valero Texas Open in San Antonio, Texas during the weekend of March 26-29.

  Alva Striplin Swafford, Hudson Swafford, Maclay High School