Hudson Swafford Wins PGA Tour's American Express Classic

LA QUINTA, Calif. — Georgia alum, Hudson Swafford, won The American Express for the second time in five years Sunday, breaking a late tie with an eagle in a closing-round 8-under 64.

Swafford broke a late tie with an eagle in an 8-under 64 on the Stadium Course. He beat Tom Hoge by 2 strokes after beginning the day 3 strokes behind rookies Lee Hodges and Paul Barjon.”I’ve fallen in love with this place,” Swafford said. “This is kind of my West Coast home, honestly.”

Tied for the lead with Brian Harman and Francesco Molinari at 20 under, Swafford pulled ahead with the eagle on the par-5 16th. From about 200 yards, he hit a 7-iron to 8 feet on the iconic hole with large, deep bunkers lining the left side.

“A little down breeze and it was just a perfect 7-iron,” Swafford said. “I knew if I missed it a little bit it was going to come up just short, just where you wanted to be, and if I hit it good and hit it solid, then I was going to have a really good chance at eagle.”

Swafford ran in a 20-foot birdie putt on 17, a par-3 hole called Alcatraz with an island green ringed by jagged rocks. He saved par on the par-4 18th with an 8-footer to wrap up a spot in the Masters.

“Just knew to keep my head down and hit one last solid putt and did that and it went right in,” Swafford said.

The 34-year-old from Tallahassee, Florida, finished at 23-under 265 in the three-course event for his third PGA Tour title. He also won in the desert in 2017 and took the 2020 Corales Puntacana Resort & Club Championship in the Dominican Republic.

“Hud’s a great player and I think that it just sets up great for him,” Harman said about his fellow Georgia alum. “Hud’s good anywhere. He hits it far and when he gets putting and chipping it good he’s hard to beat.”