Nina Caldwell
Golf playoffs are used when there is a tie at the end of a tournament. The Masters Tournament is the only men's major to use sudden death to determine its playoff winner. In this format, if two or more players are tied after 72 holes of regulation, they will compete in a playoff until one player scores lower. The Open Championship was the first major tournament to adopt the shortened aggregate playoff system, introducing a 4-hole playoff in 1985. The PGA Championship uses a three-hole aggregate, while The Players Championship uses a shorter format.
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What You'll Learn
Sudden death
The sudden-death playoff format is used when two or more players are tied after the regulation number of holes in a golf tournament. In this format, the tied players compete in a playoff, playing one extra hole at a time until a winner is determined by a lower score. This continues until a golfer wins by scoring lower than the others, with the cycle of holes repeated if necessary. For example, at the Masters Tournament, the playoff starts on the par-4 18th hole and then moves to the par-4 10th hole if needed, repeating this cycle until a winner is found.
The sudden-death format was first used in 1976 at the Pepsi-Wilson Tournament on the Japan Golf Tour, where Peter Thomson defeated three other golfers in 14 holes, setting a record for the longest sudden-death playoff on any men's professional tour. The Masters Tournament first used sudden death in 1979, with the previous format being an 18-hole playoff (except for a 36-hole playoff in 1935). The PGA Championship also used sudden death from 1977 to 1999, before switching to a three-hole playoff in 2000.
While some golfers, like Tiger Woods, prefer the longer format as it gives a better player more holes to emerge victorious, others, like Chris DiMarco, argue that it is unfair to compete in 72 holes only to lose on one bad swing in sudden death. The aggregate playoff, which is considered the oldest and fairest format, allows for a bad shot without eliminating all chances of winning. However, sudden death is often used when shorter playoff formats do not break the tie, to ensure the tournament ends before sunset.
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Playoff format at the Masters
The Masters Tournament is the only men's major to use sudden death to determine its playoff winner. In this format, if two or more players are tied after 72 holes of regulation at Augusta National Golf Club, they will compete in a playoff until one person scores lower. The Masters used to settle ties after 72 holes by coming back the next day for an 18-hole playoff. This format was in place when Gene Sarazen defeated Craig Wood in 1935 to complete the career Grand Slam. After that, the Masters went to an 18-hole playoff until switching to sudden death in 1976.
The first time the sudden-death format was used came in 1979 when Fuzzy Zoeller beat Ed Sneed and Tom Watson. Since then, there have been 10 more playoffs, none lasting more than two extra holes. In 2005, Tiger Woods beat Chris DiMarco with a birdie on the first playoff hole. In 2013, Adam Scott defeated Angel Cabrera on the second playoff hole. The Masters last entered a playoff in 2017, when Sergio Garcia defeated Justin Rose with a birdie on the first playoff hole.
The playoff would begin on the par-4 18th and then, if needed, go to the par-4 10th. It would repeat this cycle until a winner is determined. While there is the potential for golfers to play on in the remaining daylight in this format, no Masters playoff has ever gone past the second hole. If players are still tied after the first two holes, they will continue to repeat the 18-10 hole cycle until a champion is decided.
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Aggregate playoff
An aggregate playoff is one of the oldest playoff formats in stroke play tournaments. It is a series of holes, most commonly three, four, or eighteen, where the winner is the player with the lowest cumulative score across all the holes.
The Open Championship was the first major tournament to adopt a shortened aggregate playoff system, introducing a four-hole playoff in 1985, though it was not used until 1989. The US Open changed its format to a two-hole aggregate in 2018, and the PGA Championship has used a three-hole aggregate since 2000. The Players Championship also uses a three-hole aggregate playoff, which it changed to in 2014.
The three-hole aggregate playoff at the Players Championship in 2015, for example, was played on the par-5 16th, par-3 17th, and par-4 18th holes. If there is still a tie after these three holes, the players will go into sudden death on the 17th hole and then the 18th if needed.
The aggregate playoff format allows for momentum to build and gives players an opportunity to recover from any mistakes made, as the winner is determined by the lowest overall total across the series of holes.
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Playoff rules for tiebreakers
A playoff in golf is used to determine the winner of a tournament when two or more players are tied after the final round. The playoff format can vary depending on the tournament and the organising body's preferences. Here are the playoff rules for tiebreakers in some of the major golf tournaments:
The Masters Tournament
The Masters Tournament is the only men's major to use sudden death to determine its playoff winner. In this format, tied players compete in a playoff until one player scores lower. The playoff begins on the par-4 18th hole, and if necessary, moves to the par-4 10th hole. This cycle repeats until a winner is determined.
PGA Championship
The PGA Championship currently uses a three-hole playoff format. Previously, it used an 18-hole playoff format from 1977 to 1999 and sudden death from 1977 to 1999.
The Open Championship
The Open Championship introduced a shortened aggregate playoff system in 1985, with a 4-hole playoff. This format was first used in 1989 when Mark Calcavecchia, Greg Norman, and Wayne Grady tied.
US Open
The US Open changed its format in 2018 to a two-hole aggregate playoff.
General Tiebreaker Rules
In general, if players are tied atop the leaderboard after 72 holes, they will compete in a four-hole, stroke-play playoff. The player with the lowest aggregate score over those four holes is declared the winner. If the tie persists, a sudden-death format is employed, where players continue in a hole-by-hole competition until a winner emerges.
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Playoff formats in men's golf
A playoff in golf is used to resolve a tie at the end of a match, with players competing beyond the standard 72 holes until a winner emerges. There are two types of playoff formats: aggregate playoff and sudden death. The aggregate playoff is the oldest playoff format in stroke play tournaments, with the lowest cumulative score across a series of holes determining the winner. This format is widely considered the fairest way of deciding a winner, as one bad shot does not eliminate all chances of victory. The number of holes played in an aggregate playoff can vary, with three, four, eighteen, or even thirty-six holes being common. The Open Championship, for instance, uses a four-hole aggregate playoff, while the U.S. Open employs a two-hole aggregate format. The Masters Tournament, the only men's major to do so, uses sudden death, where tied players compete hole-by-hole until one player scores lower. The PGA Championship, on the other hand, uses a combination of these formats: a three-hole aggregate, followed by sudden death if players remain tied.
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Frequently asked questions
A playoff in golf is when there is a tie and players compete in extra holes until a winner is decided.
In sudden death, the tied players play one extra hole at a time. The player with the lowest score moves on to the next hole while the others are eliminated. This continues until a winner is decided.
In the 1976 Pepsi-Wilson Tournament, Peter Thomson defeated three other players in a sudden-death playoff that lasted 14 holes, the longest on any men's professional tour.
In sudden death, players are eliminated with each hole until a winner is decided. In an aggregate playoff, players compete in a set number of extra holes, most commonly three, four, or eighteen, and the player with the lowest cumulative score is declared the winner.
The PGA Championship currently uses a three-hole playoff format. Prior to 1977 and from 1999 to 2000, it used an 18-hole playoff. From 1977 to 1999, it used sudden death.
