Matt Jones, Hudson Swafford Say They Were Enticed By Schedule, Team Format of LIV Golf

At the Memorial Tournament on Wednesday, participants in the upcoming LIV Golf event were asked about their decision.

Author:
Alex Miceli
Publish date:
Jun 1, 2022

DUBLIN, OHIO -- As kids, golfers dreamed of playing on the PGA Tour.

On Tuesday, both Matt Jones and Hudson Swafford, PGA Tour members, decided on another path and committed officially to the inaugural LIV Golf event outside London next week.

For Jones, 42, the decision was relatively easy.

“Purely a business decision for me and my family,” Jones said on the range Wednesday at the Memorial Tournament. “It's a big decision for any golfer. I've given the PGA Tour 15 years out here, Korn Ferry four or five years before that. This is a quick decision for me for my business for me of being a self-employed contractor. And it works for me.”

The Australian has four worldwide wins including two on the PGA Tour, the 2014 Shell Houston Open and the 2021 Honda Classic, and has won over $17.3 million in his 15 years on the PGA Tour.

“The upfront money’s nice, it’s not like it's a life changing amount for me at all,” Jones said of the reported appearance fees. "But the purses are nice, the smaller events, the smaller fields, the team aspect, and three-day tournaments are all good for me.”

Swafford, 34, was a bit of a surprise. He has three wins in his PGA Tour career: the 2017 CareerBuilder Challenge, the 2020 Corales Puntacana and this year at The American Express.

Currently 42nd in the FedEx Cup standings, Swafford has won more than $9.65 million in his nine years on tour.

“Schedule is very enticing to a guy who has two small kids,” Swafford told Golf Digest on Wednesday. “I think the format, the team aspect, is going to be incredible. Look at Zurich [the Zurich Classic of New Orleans, which is a two-man team event], putting teams together turned an event that was in a tough part of the schedule into one that gets some incredible fields. I’m really looking forward to seeing how that works.”

Both Jones and Swafford face unknown disciplinary actions by the PGA Tour, which reiterated its stance on players competing in the LIV Golf Invitational Series in a statement on Wednesday.

“As communicated to our entire membership on May 10, PGA TOUR members have not been authorized to participate in the Saudi Golf League’s London event, under PGA TOUR Tournament Regulations. Members who violate the Tournament Regulations are subject to disciplinary action. “

James Piot, 23, is one of the youngest professionals to commit to play in the LIV London event next week. The 2021 U.S. Amateur champion turned pro just last week and is not a member of any tour, so the disciplinary issues that Jones and Swafford may face from the PGA Tour may not apply to Piot.

Piot, who is in the Memorial field due to his U.S. Amateur win, was unwilling to discuss the LIV situation and deferred to his agent Michael Flynn of Radegen Sports.

According to Flynn, they have had discussions with the PGA Tour, and Piot’s ability to play in Monday qualifiers or receiving sponsor exemptions will not be affected by playing in LIV events.

“He wanted to play globally,” Flynn said of some of the criteria used to make the decision to play in a LIV event. “He wanted to have a place to play for the next couple of years, so we’re looking at different opportunities that seem to make sense.”

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