Hudson Swafford

Who knows where Swafford would have been had it not been for the Corales Puntacana Resort & Club Championship. He won the first one this season back in September and finished T6 in the typical March playing of the event. Add in another T2 at Congaree and that was about it to speak of for the former Georgia Bulldog. Finishing outside the top 180 on tour in SG: total is definite cause for concern, and it would be surprising if he surpassed $1 million in 2021-22.

Swafford followed up his best year on Tour, 2016-17, with his worst. He had zero top-10s and only two top-25s in 22 starts, one in an opposite-field event. Any time a golfer is on the wrong side of 30 and starts a decline, you wonder whether he will be able to ascend again. We'd wait and see on Swafford, 31, before investing in him.

Swafford ended the 2015-16 on a streak of 13 consecutive made cuts, a streak which he extended through the first six events in the 2016-17 season, and then he won. His win at the Career Builder Challenge was the last cut he would make for a month, providing further evidence that sometimes a win can actually deter future success. Whether the win was responsible for his drop in play last season or not, Swafford appears to be on the way up. As such, Swafford is a decent option in salary cap leagues this season.

Since joining the PGA Tour in 2014, Swafford has slowly progressed each year. His first year was not a success as he ended-up at #146 on the FedEx Cup points list, but his 2nd-year he showed a lot of improvement. He posted the same amount of top-10s as he did the year prior (one), but he made the cut in 18 events vs. 11. Last season was his best to date as he made the cut in 22 of 30 events. The cuts-made percentage is impressive, but he has to find a way to improve on the weekend. Until he does, he's not a great salary cap option this season. In draft leagues, he should go in the 10th-round or later.

Swafford’s anticipated rookie PGA Tour season resulted in a return to the Web.com Tour finals to regain his card. While he is out of the hotbed University of Georgia, the 27-year-old made only 11-of-26 cuts, finishing 146th in the standings. His lone top 10 came in January, with four other top 25s. Can he improve? We suppose so, so the top 125 will be a close call.