Anyone who paid attention to the first round of the Open Championship could have guessed that a playoff might be in play on Sunday. Tough conditions created a tight leaderboard, and it didn't break on Friday or Saturday as nearly a dozen players entered the final round within striking distance.
Despite plenty of great finishes in recent years, only one major has required a playoff since the start of 2018. Justin Thomas prevailed over Will Zalatoris in a playoff at the 2022 PGA Championship, earning his second career win in the event.
A playoff looked like it might have been in store at both the PGA Championship and U.S. Open this year, and both would have included Bryson DeChambeau. DeChambeau didn't get the opportunity in May, when Xander Schauffele held him off, but it was DeChambeau who got the better of Rory McIlroy in an intense U.S. Open finish in June.
Is a playoff on the table at Royal Troon? Here's what you need to know about how the format would work.
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British Open playoff format 2024
The Open Championship boasts a four-hole aggregate playoff format, with golfers playing No. 1, No. 2, No. 17, and No. 18 for the chance to win a major.
Because this is an aggregate playoff, all four holes must be played. The player with the best score after four holes will win. If players are still tied after four holes, they will play a sudden-death playoff at the No. 18 hole.
Here's a look at how those four holes break down:
Hole | Par | Distance |
1 | 4 | 366 yards |
2 | 4 | 389 yards |
17 | 3 | 242 yards |
18 | 4 | 458 yards |
How extra holes work in golf
Depending on the tournament, there are typically two different types of playoff formats when 72 holes can't determine a winner,
— Aggregate: Aggregate playoff formats, which require golfers to play multiple holes (depending on the event), are generally less common but dominate major championships. The only major tournament without an aggregate playoff format is the Masters, where players compete in a sudden-death format involving the No. 18 hole and No. 10 if necessary.
— Sudden death: Some PGA Tour events feature a sudden death format in which the first player to win a hole wins the tournament. The holes are decided depending on the tournament.
MORE: What to know about British Open contender Thriston Lawrence
British Open playoff history
The British Open has gone to a playoff 20 times in the tournament's long history. The British Open went to a playoff seven times in 15 years from 1995-2009, but only once (2015) has a playoff been required since Stewart Cink's win in 2009.
Here's a look at every British Open to reach a playoff:
Year | Winner | Runner(s) up |
1883 | Willie Fernie | Bob Ferguson |
1889 | Willie Park Jr. | Andrew Kirkaldy |
1896 | Harry Vardon | J.H. Taylor |
1911 | Harry Vardon | Arnaud Massy |
1921 | Jock Hutchison | Roger Wethered |
1933 | Denny Shute | Craig Wood |
1949 | Bobby Locke | Harry Bradshaw |
1958 | Peter Thomson | Dave Thomas |
1963 | Bob Charles | Phil Rodgers |
1970 | Jack Nicklaus | Doug Sanders |
1975 | Tom Watson | Jack Newton |
1989 | Mark Calcavecchia | Greg Norman, Wayne Grady |
1995 | John Daly | Costantino Rocca |
1998 | Mark O'Meara | Brian Watts |
1999 | Paul Lawrie | Jean van de Velde, Justin Leonard |
2002 | Ernie Els | Thomas Levet, Stuart Appleby, Steve Elkington |
2004 | Todd Hamilton | Ernie Els |
2007 | Padraig Harrington | Sergio Garcia |
2009 | Stewart Cink | Tom Watson |
2015 | Zach Johnson | Louis Oosthuizen, Marc Leishman |