Historic marathon playoff decides DP World Tour event – but was it the longest ever?

Jorge Campillo and Julien Guerrier were inseparable after 72 holes of the 2024 Andalucia Masters.

They were still locked together after 80 holes as neither the Spaniard nor the Frenchman gave an inch at Real Club de Golf Sotogrande. The latter finally won with his ninth straight par on the 18th hole, upsetting the home favourite.

So the record-equalling ninth playoff hole finally separated the pair and Guerrier had earned his first win on the DP World Tour, but how did this sudden-death playoff compare to the longest deadlocks in the sport’s history?

We took a look at the archives to discover which tournaments produced the longest sudden-death playoffs and in which years. It is fair to say that Guerrier and Campillo have earned their spot in history.

What is the longest golf playoff in history?

1978 Greater Milwaukee Open (8 holes) – Lee Elder defeated Lee Trevino

Lee Trevino holed a birdie putt to force a playoff with Lee Elder in 1978. But he missed two short birdie putts during this playoff and paid the price when missing a short par putt on the eighth playoff hole. Elder finished off the Merry Mex with a 12-foot par putt for the win.

“I’m sure Lee tried as hard as he could, but I believe that if he hadn’t been in a hurry to meet his wife in Chicago and catch a plane for England for the British Open, it could have been a different story,” Elder said. “I think the fact that Lee came here and played as hard as he did when he planned to go to England right afterwards says something about what kind of man he is.”

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1965 Azalea Open Invitational (8 holes) – Dick Hart beat Phil Rodgers

After Dick Hart only entered the Azalea Open Invitational two minutes before the deadline, he surged to the top of the leaderboard with Phil Rodgers.

Both players missed the green on the eighth playoff hole, but Hart was the one to get up and down and this wasn’t before he performed heroics leading up to this point. Hart forced extra holes with a 12-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole in regulation play, having already made an eagle on the 15th with a wedge shot.

1981 Quad Cities Open (8 holes) – Dave Barr beat Woody Blackburn, Frank Conner, Dan Halldorson and Victor Regalado

Dave Barr was two shots behind Victor Regelado when he finished his round on 10-under-par. Regalado missed a short one on the 18th hole to bring the other four players into a five-man playoff.

Regalado, Dan Halldorson and Frank Conner were eliminated on the first playoff hole and Barr eventually won on the eighth extra hole with a three-foot putt to beat Woody Blackburn.

“A playoff was in the back of my mind, but I really didn’t expect it,” Barr said.

1983 Phoenix Open (8 holes) – Bob Gilder beat Rex Caldwell, Johnny Miller and Mark O’Meara

Bob Gilder won this tournament with a birdie on the eighth extra hole, inflicting more pain on Rex Caldwell who had now lost in extra holes for the second time in two weeks. Caldwell was still winless on the PGA Tour and holed a 30-foot putt to get himself into the playoff.

The television broadcast showed Mark O’Meara and Johnny Miller drop out on the second extra hole, but ended broadcasting with Gilder and Caldwell still out on the golf course.

Gilder sealed his sixth title with a seven-footer for birdie. He won this tournament twice. Caldwell reportedly left the green without speaking to Gilder or the media.

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2012 Mayakoba Golf Classic (8 holes) – John Huh beat Robert Allenby

At just 21 years old, John Huh earned his first title on the PGA Tour on his fifth start. He made eight straight pars to eventually win the event. He made a three on the par-3 10th hole when Robert Allenby found the hazard and missed a 15-footer to extend the playoff.

Allenby had the tournament at his mercy prior to extra holes, but he made a double bogey on the 18th to open the door for Huh to break through on the US circuit.

2021 Travelers Championship (8 holes) – Harris English beat Kramer Hickok

Harris English and Kramer Hickok were tied after 18 holes at TPC River Highlands. They both parred the first seven holes of the playoff before English finally made a five-foot birdie putt to earn his second win of that season.

1989 Dutch Open (9 holes) – Jose Maria Olazabal beat Ronan Rafferty and Roger Chapman

Despite making a double bogey on the ninth playoff hole, Jose Maria Olazabal still managed to edge Ronan Rafferty and Roger Chapman at Kennemer Golf and Country Club in the Netherlands.

Olazabal, who won the Masters twice, won 23 times on what is now called the DP World Tour.

2013 Spanish Open (9 holes) – Raphael Jacquelin beat Felipe Aguilar and Max Kieffer

Coincidentally, Raphael Jacquelin is the coach of Julien Guerrier and he won a nine-hole playoff of his own at the Spanish Open in 2013. Jacquelin recently played for the final time on the DP World Tour at the 2024 French Open.

This was the Frenchman’s fourth win on the tour and the second time he’d been involved in a playoff, with the first coming at the 2004 Dunhill Championship.

2024 Andalucia Masters (9 holes) – Julien Guerrier beat Jorge Campillo

Julien Guerrier and Jorge Campillo both shot 70 in the final round of what was a low-scoring week at the Andalucia Masters. Guerrier had shot 62 and 63 in the lead-up to the final round.

Each player made eight pars each until the ninth extra hole which landed on the 18th in Sotogrande. Campillo made a bogey and after 19 years of trying, Guerrier finally won on the formerly named European Tour.

1949 Motor City Open (11 holes) – Lloyd Mangrum and Cary Middlecoff declared co-winners – The longest golf playoff

In 1948, Ben Hogan and Dutch Harrison went to an 18-hole playoff at this tournament, and Lloyd Mangrum and Cary Middlecoff weren’t far short of reproducing this despite the tournament scrapping the 18-hole format.

They shot 69 in the final round and were tied on 9-under-par. They couldn’t be split after 11 holes and they were declared joint-winners of the event as darkness fell.

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(Headline image courtesy of Getty)