Top 20 players to watch in 2012: No. 3 Hudson Swafford

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Hudson Swafford, a former All-America at Georgia, has steadily improved since turning pro. He advanced to the final stage of PGA TOUR qualifying school. He finished 38th in the final stage -- stamping his ticket to the Nationwide Tour in 2012.

Swafford was very solid in final stage shooting rounds of 74-71-70-73-65-73.

"I'm very excited and looking forward to the season," said Swafford who hasn't played in a Nationwide Tour tournament so the opener at the Pacific Pacific Rubiales Colombia Championship presented by Samsung will be his debut tournament. "I'm fresh out of college and although I missed the PGA TOUR by two shots I still have a place to play and I'm fortunate to have that."

While two of his former teammates, Russell Henley and Harris English, won as amateurs on the Nationwide Tour last summer it will be Swafford who could make his mark in 2012. English was able to make it through q-school and will be a rookie in 2012 and Henley has some status on the Nationwide Tour.

In just his sixth pro event this past summer Swafford won an eGolf Tour tournament and continued his outstanding play through the qualifying school.

Swafford, a 24-year-old from Tallahassee, Fla., qualified for the 2010 U.S. Open and missed the cut by just one shot. In his freshman season at Georgia, he was named the freshman of the year in the SEC.

Swafford battled back from a shoulder injury at Georgia that forced him to take a red shirt season in 2009-10. It was supposed to be his senior season, but he had surgery on a torn shoulder muscle.

"It was an old baseball injury because I had played baseball growing up, but I needed to get it taken care of and I'm glad I did," Swafford said.

Now, Swafford hopes to make his mark on the Nationwide Tour in his first full season as a professional.

"I have some expectations but it will be a learning experience for sure," Swafford said. "It's definitely a goal to win out there and I want to finish in the top 25."

Swafford has never played in a Nationwide Tour event. Here's a look at his stats from 2010, when he played in the U.S. Open. He did not meet the minimum number of rounds required to be officially ranked.