Miles Bennett
Golf playoffs are used to determine a winner when players are tied for first place after 72 holes. There are two main formats: sudden death and aggregate score playoffs. Sudden death is the most common format, where players compete hole-by-hole until someone wins by achieving a lower score. In an aggregate score playoff, players compete over a set number of extra holes, with the winner having the lowest total score.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| When is a playoff needed? | When there is a tie for first place at the end of the final round of a stroke play event. |
| Who participates in a playoff? | All players tied for the lead. |
| How does a playoff work? | There are two main formats: sudden death or an aggregate score playoff. |
| What is sudden death? | All players tied for the lead tee off on an extra hole. If one player shoots a lower score on that hole than all the others, they win the tournament on the spot. If they remain tied, they move on to another hole, and continue hole-by-hole until someone beats the others with a better score on a single hole. |
| What is an aggregate score playoff? | The tied players play a set number of extra holes, often 3 or 4, and their scores on those holes are added up. The player with the lowest total score for the playoff holes wins the championship. If they’re still tied after that series, then it usually goes to sudden death. |
| Which format is more common? | Sudden death is the most common playoff format in stroke play tournaments and even more so in match play tournaments. All regular PGA Tour and European Tour tournaments use this system (except for The Players Championship starting in 2014), as does the Masters Tournament. |
| Which tournaments use an aggregate score playoff? | The four men's major championships. |
| How many holes are played in an aggregate score playoff? | The number of holes varies depending on the tournament. The U.S. Open uses a two-hole aggregate playoff, while the PGA Championship uses a three-hole aggregate playoff. |
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What You'll Learn
Sudden death
In golf, sudden death is the most common playoff format in stroke play tournaments and even more so in match play tournaments. It is used when two or more players are tied after the final round of a tournament. The tied participants play one extra hole at a time, with those still tied for the lowest score moving on to the next hole until a winner has been determined. For example, in the 1976 Pepsi-Wilson Tournament on the Japan Golf Tour, Peter Thomson defeated Graham Marsh, Brian Jones, and Shozo Miyamoto in a sudden-death playoff that lasted 14 holes, the longest in PGA Tour history.
The use of sudden death in golf playoffs is controversial. Some players, like Tiger Woods, prefer playing more holes, believing it gives them more opportunities to showcase their skills and allows the better player to emerge victorious. On the other hand, critics argue that it is unfair for a tournament to be decided by a single bad swing after playing well for 72 holes.
While sudden death adds excitement and suspense to the game, it is not without its flaws. One notable disadvantage is the time constraint, as shorter playoff formats might cause a tournament to extend beyond sunset. As a result, some tournaments opt for an 18-hole playoff, played the following day, to mitigate this issue.
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Aggregate score
In golf, a playoff is used to determine the winner when two or more players are tied for the lead after the final round. The aggregate score is one of the two main playoff formats, the other being sudden death.
In an aggregate score playoff, the tied players compete by playing a set number of extra holes, typically three, four, or eighteen holes. The players' scores on those holes are then added up, and the player with the lowest total score for the playoff holes is declared the winner. For example, in the 2025 PGA Championship, there was a three-hole aggregate score playoff on holes 16, 17, and 18, known as the "Green Mile". If the players were still tied after those three holes, they would continue in a hole-by-hole playoff, starting on hole 18, and then repeating holes 16, 17, and 18 until a winner was determined.
The aggregate playoff is the oldest playoff format in stroke play tournaments and is widely considered to be the fairest way of deciding a winner. This is because it allows for a larger sample of holes to determine the winner, and one bad shot does not eliminate all chances of winning. However, one potential drawback of the aggregate playoff format is that it can take longer to complete than sudden death, which may cause issues with completing the tournament before sunset.
While sudden death is the most common playoff format in professional golf, the aggregate score format is used in several of golf's biggest events, including the four men's major championships.
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Tiebreakers
In golf, a playoff is used to determine the winner when players are tied for first place at the end of the final round of a stroke play event. The playoff format can vary depending on the tournament, with the two most common formats being sudden death and aggregate score playoffs.
Sudden Death
In sudden death, all players tied for the lead tee off on an extra hole. If one player shoots a lower score on that hole than all the others, they win the tournament. If they remain tied, they move on to another hole and continue in a hole-by-hole format until a winner is determined. Sudden death is the most common playoff format in professional golf and is used in all regular PGA Tour tournaments and many majors. It creates immediate drama, as any hole could be the last. However, it has been criticised for being unfair, as one bad swing can eliminate a player after 72 gruelling holes.
Aggregate Score Playoff
In an aggregate score playoff, the tied players play a set number of extra holes, often 3 or 4, and sometimes more, and their scores on those holes are added up. The player with the lowest total score for the playoff holes wins the championship. If they are still tied after that series, it usually goes to sudden death. The idea behind an aggregate playoff is to allow a larger sample of holes to determine the winner, and it is considered the fairest way of deciding a champion as it ensures that one bad shot does not eliminate all chances of winning.
Examples of Tiebreakers in Tournaments
The U.S. Open uses a two-hole aggregate playoff format, with the lowest cumulative score across the two holes determining the winner. If there is still a tie, sudden death is used. The PGA Championship currently uses a three-hole aggregate score playoff, and if players are still tied after those three holes, they move to a hole-by-hole, sudden-death format until a winner is decided.
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Playoff holes
A playoff in golf is essentially extra holes played to break a tie for the lead. Playoffs occur only when players are tied for first place at the end of the final round of a stroke play event. In other words, if the leaders are tied after the scheduled 72 holes, they must keep playing until one golfer emerges victorious.
There are two main formats a golf playoff can take: sudden death or an aggregate score playoff. The exact method depends on the tournament’s rules, but the PGA Tour and most events generally use the sudden-death format. This is the most common playoff format in pro golf. All players tied for the lead tee off on an extra hole; if one player shoots a lower score on that hole than all the others, they win the tournament on the spot. If they remain tied, they move on to another hole, and continue hole-by-hole until someone beats the others with a better score on a single hole. Sudden death is used in all regular PGA Tour tournaments and many majors.
The aggregate playoff is the oldest playoff format in stroke play tournaments, with the lowest cumulative score in a series of holes, most commonly three, four, or eighteen holes. This is widely considered to be the fairest way of deciding a winner, as one bad shot does not eliminate all chances of winning, and is used in the four men's major championships. In an aggregate playoff, the tied players play a set number of extra holes, often 3 or 4, and their scores on those holes are added up. The player with the lowest total score for the playoff holes wins the championship. If they’re still tied after that series, then it usually goes to sudden death.
Tournament officials typically pre-select which holes will be used for the playoff. For example, in the 2024 U.S. Open at Pinehurst, the plan was to use the 17th and 18th holes for the two-hole aggregate shootout. This ensures that players know in advance where the showdown will happen, and those holes are usually chosen to provide a fair and exciting finish (often ending on the 18th green where the atmosphere is electric).
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Playoff formats
A playoff in golf is essentially extra holes played to break a tie for the lead. Playoffs occur only when players are tied for first place at the end of the final round of a stroke play event. There are two main formats a golf playoff can take: sudden death or an aggregate score playoff.
Sudden Death
Sudden death is the most common playoff format in stroke play tournaments and even more so in match play tournaments. All players tied for the lead tee off on an extra hole. If one player shoots a lower score on that hole than all the others, they win the tournament on the spot. If they remain tied, they move on to another hole, and continue hole-by-hole until someone beats the others with a better score on a single hole.
Aggregate Score Playoff
In an aggregate playoff, the tied players play a set number of extra holes, often 3 or 4, and their scores on those holes are added up. The player with the lowest total score for the playoff holes wins the championship. If they’re still tied after that series, then it usually goes to sudden death. The idea behind an aggregate playoff is to allow a slightly larger sample of holes to determine the winner.
The U.S. Open uses a two-hole aggregate playoff to determine its champion. The PGA Championship uses a three-hole aggregate playoff. If players are still tied after those 3 holes, then they will continue playing hole-by-hole in a stroke-play (sudden death) format until there is a winner.
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Frequently asked questions
A playoff in golf is when extra holes are played to break a tie for the lead. Playoffs occur only when players are tied for first place at the end of the final round of a stroke play event.
There are two main formats a golf playoff can take: sudden death or an aggregate score playoff. In sudden death, all players tied for the lead tee off on an extra hole; if one player shoots a lower score on that hole than all the others, they win the tournament on the spot. If they remain tied, they move on to another hole, and continue hole-by-hole until someone beats the others with a better score on a single hole. The aggregate score playoff is the oldest playoff format in stroke play tournaments, with the lowest cumulative score in a series of holes, most commonly three, four, or eighteen holes.
In 1976, the Pepsi-Wilson Tournament on the Japan Golf Tour set a record for the longest sudden-death playoff on any men's professional tour. It took Peter Thomson 14 holes to defeat Graham Marsh, Brian Jones, and Shozo Miyamoto. In 1961, there was an 18-hole playoff at the PGA Championship where Jerry Barber defeated Don January.
In the event of a tie for first place after 72 holes, there will be a three-hole aggregate score playoff on holes 16, 17, and 18. If players are still tied, there will be a hole-by-hole playoff beginning on hole 18, and if they are still tied, holes 16, 17, and 18 will be repeated until there is a winner.
