The playoff format of the Open Championship, devised to resolve a tie after the scheduled rounds, brings an extra dash of excitement to the tournament.
The format has seen various changes over the years, enhancing the suspense for both the players and spectators alike.
A playoff is an exciting way to complete a major championship, especially to find out who lifts the Claret Jug. Here is The Open playoff format…
What is The Open Championship playoff format?
The players that finish in a tie for the lead after 72 holes of stroke play head back onto the course to play a three-hole aggregate playoff. This will be the case if extra holes are required for this year’s tournament at Royal Birkdale, with the championship returning to Southport for the first time since 2017 and Jordan Spieth’s victory.
In the event of a tie for first place, there will be a three-hole play-off over the 14th, 15th and 18th holes. If still tied, a hole-by-hole play-off will be played over the 18th hole only until a winner emerges
The most attentive of you will notice this has changed from last year, when the Open was held at Royal Portrush.
While extra holes weren’t needed due to Scottie Scheffler’s dominant victory in 2025 at Portrush, a three-hole playoff using holes 1, 13 and 18 would’ve occurred.
At the US Open, the winner is determined in a two-hole aggregate playoff if required. It used to be an 18-hole playoff before this was scrapped in 2018. The PGA Championship follows the same format as Open Championships at Portrush or Royal St. George’s, employing a three-hole aggregate playoff.
On the PGA Tour, a sudden-death format is usually adopted where players just continue hole by hole. As soon as a player wins a hole, the playoff is over. This format is also used by the Masters, which saw Rory McIlroy complete the Career Grand Slam with victory over Justin Rose.
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When was the last play-off?
There have been 21 play-offs to decide who will win The Open – with a quarter of them in this century, and the last time was at St Andrews in 2015 when Zach Johnson eased out Louis Oosthuizen and Marc Leishman in a four-hole playoff.
The past couple of decades have seen some infamous playoff battles at The Open.
Who can forget Stewart Cink seeing off then-59-year-old Tom Watson at Turnberry in 2009? Or Paul Lawrie’s stunning 4-iron at Carnoustie in 1999 to beat Justin Leonard and Jean van de Velde following the Frenchman’s spectacular meltdown at the 72nd?
1876: Bob Martin beat Davie Strath
1883: Willie Fernie beat Bob Ferguson
1889: Willie Park Jr beat Andrew Kirkaldy
1896: Harry Vardon beat JH Taylor
1911: Harry Vardon beat Arnaud Massy
1921: Jock Hutchison beat Roger Wethered
1933: Denny Shute beat Craig Wood
1949: Bobby Locke beat Harry Bradshaw
1958: Peter Thomson beat Dave Thomas
1963: Bob Charles beat Phil Rodgers
1970: Jack Nicklaus beat Doug Sanders
1975: Tom Watson beat Jack Newton
1989: Mark Calcavecchia beat Wayne Grady and Greg Norman
1995: John Daly beat Costantino Rocca
1998: Mark O’Meara beat Brian Watts
1999: Paul Lawrie beat Justin Leonard and Jean van de Velde
2002: Ernie Els beat Stuart Appleby, Steve Elkington and Thomas Levet
2004: Todd Hamilton beat Ernie Els
2007: Padraig Harrington beat Sergio Garcia
2009: Stewart Cink beat Tom Watson
2015: Zach Johnson beat Marc Leishman and Louis Oosthuizen
NOW READ: How to qualify for The Open
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NOW READ: The history of The Open: The story of the first-ever Open
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