In the history of the four tournaments recognized as the men's major golf championships -- the Masters, US Open, British Open Championship and PGA Championship -- there have been some close battles for the most important trophies in the sport.
In fact, in the history of golf's major championships, there have been 84 playoffs:Â 33 U.S. Open playoffs, 21 British Open Championship playoffs, 18 Masters playoffs and 13 PGA Championship playoffs (since moving to stroke play in 1958, though technically the final of the championship when it was match play is, we guess, a playoff of sorts).
The playoff format for the four majors are all different, though they have evolved over time.
These days, the Masters playoff format is sudden-death. The U.S. Open playoff format is a two-hole aggregate-score playoff, with a sudden-death playoff after that, in the event of a tie.
The British Open Championship playoff format is a three-hole aggregate-score playoff with a sudden-death playoff in the event of a tie. The PGA Championship playoff format is a three-hole aggregate-score playoff with a sudden-death playoff in the event of a tie.
The last time the Masters went to a playoff was in 2025, when Rory McIlroy defeated Justin Rose on the first hole.
The last time the U.S. Open went to a playoff was 2008, when Tiger Woods beat Rocco Mediate on the 19th hole of their playoff at Torrey Pines.
The last time the British Open Championship went to a playoff was 2015, when Zach Johnson beat Louis Oosthuizen and Marc Leishman at St. Andrews.
The last time the PGA Championship went to a playoff was 2022, when Justin Thomas defeated Will Zalatoris at Southern Hills in Oklahoma.
