Swafford Finishes 12th at New Orleans PGA Stop

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

Most recently, we have chronicled his stellar play in FedEx Cup playoffs, which are in progress now, and his move from the top 125 to the top 100.

Hudson Swafford, Maclay Grad, Makes Next Round of Fedex Cup Tournament

And now the pressure is on for Swafford to take the next step.

This weekend he needed to play the best golf of the year to make the top 70 in the Fedex Cup standings and qualify for the next round.

And guess what – after three rounds he is doing it!

After three rounds at the Deutsche Bank Championship, which began Friday and ends today, Swafford is tied for 11th after shooting 69, 69, and a 68.

His play has moved him up to number 69 in the Fedex Cup standings. He needs to be at 70 or better to continue.

And his position can change with almost every swing of his club and everyone else’s.

For example, as we write this at 10:00 am, play has begun in the final round, and even though Swafford does not tee off until 12:45, he has moved up one spot to 68 in the Fedex Cup standings.

He finished his third round yesterday by birding two out of the last three holes. Check out his birdie on #16.

Regardless of how he finishes today, Swafford has taken a huge step towards becoming a regular on the PGA Tour.

He tees off today at 12:45 with coverage beginning at 1:3o  on NBC 40.

The FedEx Cup is a season-long points competition offering $67 million in bonus and prize money over the four weeks of FedExCup Playoff competition which began this weekend.

During the PGA TOUR season, TOUR members earn points based on their results, with a strong emphasis placed on winning and high finishes.

Once the PGA TOUR season concludes, the top-125 players advance to the FedExCup Playoffs, a series of four $8-million tournaments offering quadruple points relative to PGA TOUR season events.

Swafford played well enough during the year, earning approximately $900,000,  to make the top 125 and into the Barclays tournament this weekend in New Jersey.

However, the pressure was on to play well and make the top 100 and move on to next weeks tournament.

And it was not smooth sailing for the local product.

After opening with a pair of 68’s on Thursday and Friday, he shot a 71 on Saturday. He opened Sunday with a disappointing 39 on the front nine and was near the 100 player cut line a couple times before finishing with a strong 35 on the back nine.

Swafford ended up finishing tied for 50th which moved him up to 93rd in the Fedex Cup standings. This means he qualifies for the $8.25 million Deutsche Bank Championship in Boston, MA next weekend.

The tournament was won by reigning PGA champion, Jason Day.

Swafford, who shot a 67 on Thursday and a 66 on Friday, went into the third round one shot off of the lead.

The tournament was plagued with bad weather on Saturday. Swafford shot a 70 and a 69 in the third and final round and finished tied for 12th place at 16 under.

Swafford finished six shots behind tournament winner, Justin Rose, who shot a final round 66 and finished 22 under.

The tie for 12th place earned Swafford $115,920 and increased his total winnings for the year to $606,450, which is good for 81st on the PGA Tour money list.

ALSO ON TR:  Local Product, Hudson Swafford, Making His Move on the PGA Tour, Hudson Swafford:Getting Over the Hump

Swafford was excited about maintaining his improved form after struggling earlier this year.

“Nothing was really clicking for me so I kind of changed the takeaway with my golf swing, and actually my stroke with the putter,” Swafford told Golf Channel.

“I’ve been trying to bring it a little more inside and down the line. Ever since Bay Hill it has kind of kicked in and I’ve really seen some good golf.”

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.