PGA Tour playoffs: Format and playoff holes for each tournament
PGA Tour

PGA Tour playoffs: Format and playoff holes for each tournament

The PGA Tour logo
FOLLOW: iHEART | TUNEIN


On the PGA Tour, about 10 tournaments each season are expected to end up in a tie after 72 holes, requiring a playoff to determine a winner. With the exception of The Players, the PGA Tour's playoff format is a classic, sudden-death format.

Players in the playoff keep competing one hole at a time, trying to make the lowest score possible. The draw for the playoff is no longer a random number draw out of a hat. As of Feb. 22, 2021, the players tee off on the first playoff hole in the order in which they finished the 72-hole event. The first player in the house that gets in the playoff is the first to tee off, and so on.

Any ties for the best score mean another hole for those players, and any playoff competitors that don't tie the low score are eliminated and lock up a share of second-place money. Once there is a hole where one player scores lower for that hole than any of the other remaining players, that low player is declared champion.

In The Players, there is a three-hole, aggregate-score playoff on holes 16, 17 and 18 at TPC Sawgrass' Players Stadium Course. The player with the lowest total score wins. If there are ties, the players then go to sudden-death to determine a champion.

Some tournaments have more thrilling playoffs than others. In part, that's because some tournaments choose to vary the playoff holes while others tend to play the same hole over and over again, making a lengthy playoff boring.

So, here's a look at the sudden-death playoff holes for each PGA Tour-run stroke-play event.

PGA Tour playoff holes, by event

  • Sanderson Farms Championship - 18, 18, 1, 18
  • Fortinet Championship - 18, 18, 10, 11, 18
  • Shriners Hospitals Open in Vegas - 18, 18, 17, 18
  • Houston Open - 18 over and over
  • CJ Cup at Nine Bridges - 18, 18, 17, 18, 10, 18
  • Zozo Championship - 18 over and over
  • WGC-HSBC Champions - TBD
  • Bermuda Championship - 18, 16, 17, 18
  • Mayakoba Golf Classic - 18, 18, 10, 18, 10
  • The RSM Classic - 18, 18, 17, 18
  • Tournament of Champions - 18 over and over
  • Sony Open in Hawaii - 18, 18, 17, 18, 10, 17, 18
  • The American Express - 18, 18, 10, 18, 10, 18
  • Farmers Insurance Open - 18 (South Course)
  • Waste Management Phoenix Open - 18, 18, 10, 17, 18
  • AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am - 18, 18, 17 in a loop
  • Genesis Invitational - 18, 18, 10, 14, 18
  • WGC-Mexico Championship - 18, 17, 18, 17
  • Puerto Rico Open - 18 over and over
  • The Honda Classic - 18, 18, 17, 18
  • Arnold Palmer Invitational - 18, 18, 16, 17
  • The Players - 3-hole aggregate (16-18), then 17, 18
  • Valspar Championship - 18, 18, 16, 17, 18
  • Corales Puntacana Resort and Club Championship - 18, 18, 9, 18
  • Valero Texas Open - 18, 18, 17, 18
  • RBC Heritage - 18, 17, 18
  • Zurich Classic of New Orleans - 18, 18, 9, 18
  • Wells Fargo Championship - 18, 18, 11, 18
  • AT&T Byron Nelson - 18, 18, 17, 18, 18
  • Charles Schwab Challenge - 18, 16, 17, 18
  • Rocket Mortgage Classic - 18, 18, 15, 15
  • the Memorial Tournament - 18, 18, 10, 14
  • RBC Canadian Open - 18, 18, 17, 18
  • Travelers Championship - 18, 18, 17, 18
  • WGC FedEx St. Jude Invitational - 18, 18, 12, 18
  • Barracuda Championship - 18 over and over
  • John Deere Classic - 18, 18, 16, 17, 18
  • Barbasol Championship - 18, 18, 17, 18
  • 3M Open - 18, 18, 17, 18
  • Wyndham Championship - 18, 18, 10, 18, 10, 18
  • The Northern Trust - 18, 18, 16, 17, 18
  • BMW Championship - 18, 18, 17, 18, 18, 17
  • Tour Championship - 18, 18, 15, 16, 17, 18

About the author

Ryan Ballengee

Ryan Ballengee is the founder, owner and operator of Golf News Net.

Sometimes we post sponsored content from this account, and it is labeled as such.

We also occasionally include links to products and services from merchants of our choice. GNN may earn a commission from sales generated by those links. See more in GNN's affiliate disclosure.