How Golf Playoffs Work at the Majors & PGA Tour
Golf is the only major sport where a tie at the end of regulation can be settled five different ways depending on which event you are watching. The Masters ends in sudden death; The Open plays four extra holes and adds them up. For a punter, that is not trivia — it changes how, and sometimes whether, your bet pays out. A beaten playoff finalist is a 2nd place for your each-way return; the format decides who gets there.
This guide lays out every playoff format across the four majors and the PGA Tour, then explains exactly how outright, each-way, matchup and margin bets settle when a tournament goes to extra holes. Get this straight and you will never be surprised by a settled slip again.
Playoff Formats at a Glance
| Event | Playoff format | If still tied |
|---|---|---|
| The Masters | Sudden death (18, then 10, repeating) | Continues until decided |
| PGA Championship | Three-hole aggregate | Sudden death |
| US Open | Two-hole aggregate | Sudden death |
| The Open Championship | Four-hole aggregate | Sudden death |
| Most PGA Tour events | Sudden death | Continues until decided |
All four majors now settle on the Sunday. The US Open dropped its 18-hole Monday playoff after 2018; The Open has used the four-hole aggregate since 1989.
Sudden Death vs Aggregate: Why It Matters
The two philosophies produce very different betting outcomes. Sudden death is a coin-flip amplifier — one great swing or one loose one ends everything, so the “better” player has less time to assert themselves. Aggregate playoffs (two, three or four holes) give the stronger ball-striker more room to win on merit, because a single bad hole can be recovered over the remaining extras.
For live bettors this is a genuine edge. If two players reach a four-hole Open playoff and one is clearly the superior tee-to-green performer, the aggregate format favours them more than a sudden-death shootout would. Our in-play golf betting guide covers how to read those moments, and the Compare tool lets you line up the two finalists’ strokes gained profiles in seconds.
How Each Major Settles a Tie
The Masters — Sudden Death
Since 1979 Augusta has used sudden death, starting on the 18th and moving to the 10th, then repeating. It is the purest lottery of the four: no aggregate cushion, no second chances. Famous Masters playoffs have turned on a single approach or a missed putt in near-darkness.
PGA Championship — Three-Hole Aggregate
The PGA of America uses a three-hole aggregate: the tied players complete three designated holes and the lowest combined score wins, with sudden death after that if needed. Three holes is enough for a birdie run to separate the field without a single swing deciding everything.
US Open — Two-Hole Aggregate
The USGA’s two-hole aggregate is the shortest of the major formats, introduced for 2018 after decades of the 18-hole Monday playoff. On a brutal US Open setup, two holes can still produce a two- or three-shot swing, so par is often good enough.
The Open — Four-Hole Aggregate
The Open plays the longest playoff: four designated holes, lowest aggregate wins, sudden death thereafter. It is the format most likely to reward the better player, which is worth remembering when you weigh a live price. For the champions who have come through it, see our Open recent winners guide.
How Your Bets Settle in a Playoff
This is the part that actually affects your slip. The key principle: the playoff decides the official result, and everything settles off that.
- Outright win: settles on the playoff winner. If you backed a player who loses the playoff, the win part is a loser — even though they “tied” after 72 holes.
- Each-way: the win part follows the outright; the place part uses final classified positions. A beaten two-man playoff finalist is settled as 2nd, so your place part pays in full.
- Top 5 / Top 10 / Top 20: settled on final position including the playoff, so a playoff loser counts inside the top places at their classified finish.
- 72-hole matchups & head-to-heads: most settle on 72-hole score only, so two players tied at the end of regulation are a dead heat regardless of who later wins the playoff — but terms vary, so check whether your bookmaker includes the playoff.
- Winning margin & winning score: a playoff is usually treated as a one-shot margin, and the winning score is the 72-hole total. Rules differ between firms — read them before betting.
When players tie for a place and there is no playoff to separate them, dead-heat rules apply instead — that is the other half of tie settlement every golf punter needs to know.
Betting the Playoff Angle with Data
Playoffs are rare, but you can bet around the possibility of one. A tightly bunched leaderboard of elite, closely matched players raises the chance of extra holes; a runaway leader kills it. Use the data to read the shape of the week:
- Projected spread: the Statz projections show how bunched the contenders are — a cluster of similar win probabilities points to a possible playoff.
- Form and nerve: the Trending page and Leaders table flag who is striking it well enough to still be there on Sunday evening.
- Course context: the tournament pages and Statz Tipper highlight venues with reachable finishing holes that tend to compress leaderboards and force ties.
Players who thrive in these moments — Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy and Tommy Fleetwood among them — combine elite ball-striking with the temperament to hole the putt that matters when the format leaves no margin.
Playoff Formats FAQ
How do golf playoffs work?
When two or more players are tied after 72 holes, a playoff decides the winner. The format varies by event: most PGA Tour events use sudden death (first player to win a hole takes the title), while the four majors each use their own format — the Masters is sudden death, the US Open is a two-hole aggregate, the PGA Championship is a three-hole aggregate and The Open is a four-hole aggregate. Aggregate playoffs revert to sudden death if players are still level afterwards.
What is a sudden-death playoff in golf?
In sudden death, the tied players replay a designated hole (or rotation of holes) and the first player to score better than the rest on any single hole wins immediately. The Masters and most regular PGA Tour events use it. It can end on the first extra hole or run for several, and it is the fastest, highest-variance way to settle a tie.
What playoff format does The Open use?
The Open Championship uses a four-hole aggregate playoff — the tied players complete four designated holes and the lowest combined score wins. If they are still level after four holes, it goes to sudden death. The Open has used the four-hole format since 1989; Zach Johnson won a playoff in 2015 under it.
How do bets settle when there is a playoff?
Outright win bets settle on the playoff result — whoever wins the playoff is the official tournament winner for betting purposes, and the losers are settled as runners-up. Each-way and top-finish bets use the final classified positions, so a beaten playoff finalist is settled as 2nd (or joint-2nd if more than two were involved). Dead-heat rules apply to tied places that are not decided by a playoff.
Does the US Open still have an 18-hole playoff?
No. The USGA scrapped the 18-hole Monday playoff after 2018 and now uses a two-hole aggregate playoff, reverting to sudden death if the players remain tied. The change brought the US Open into line with the other majors, all of which settle on the Sunday.
Do winning margin and “to win in a playoff” markets exist?
Yes. Many bookmakers price a “tournament to be decided by a playoff — yes/no” market, plus winning-margin markets where a playoff counts as a one-shot or zero-shot margin depending on the bookmaker’s rules. Always read the specific terms, because settlement of margin and “winning score” bets around playoffs varies between firms.