LA QUINTA (Calif.) — It is rare for a PGA Tour event without its defending champion, unless that champion is injured and cannot play.
This will not be applicable to the American Express at La Quinta this Week. Hudson Swafford (defending champion) won’t be playing at PGA West or La Quinta Country Club. Swafford, who won the American Express in 2017, signed with LIV Golf last year and was one of the more than a dozen golfers that were suspended from the PGA Tour.
Swafford’s absence adds to the list of fascinating stories about defending champions over the tournament’s 64-year history. The majority of defending champions show-up, play well, or fail to make the cut. That’s it. The American Express has produced many compelling stories over the years by the defending champions.
