Many of golf’s biggest names really need to finish it off on the 72nd hole, because if it goes to sudden death they boast play-off records to forget…
Monty shared the spoils with Bernhard Langer in the 2002 Volvo Masters when lack of daylight and scheduling issues brought a premature halt to proceedings, but otherwise a record almost inversely proportional to his Order of Merit success. One of golf's most surprising play-off records to forget
Greg Norman (W5-L10)
The Shark proved pretty toothless in 10 out of the 15 play-offs he contested, agonisingly once in each of the four Majors. Don’t mention Larry Mize…
Gary Player (W3-L10)
Despite his renowned fitness, the Black Knight was surprisingly often found wanting when it came to extra holes.
Paul Broadhurst (W0-L4)
Broady’s four near misses came in Belgium, Sweden and Germany twice between 1991 and ’96.
Ernie Els (W1-L5)
The free-swinging Big Easy has found extra-time anything but easy over the years, though his solitary success did come in a four-man play-off for The Open at Muirfield in 2002. Two years later, he went down to unheralded Todd Hamilton and his universal hybrid club at Royal Troon.
Davis Love III (W2-L7)
It was very much a Love-hate play-off relationship for Davis, with Mike Heinen and Woody Austin his only victims in nine attempts. Did notch up 20 wins too though.
Jim Furyk (W3-L8)
A similar record to Love, but 16 victories over the same period including the 2003 US Open are probably more than enough to compensate for all that play-off heartache.
Mark Calcavecchia (W1-L4)
Not a great record, but we’ll let Calc off as his solitary success was in the 1989 Open at Troon, the first year the play-off went to a four-hole format (another one in the minus column for The Shark).
Jeff Sluman (W1-L6)
Lost six on the spin before finally getting the better of Paul Gow in the 2001 BC Open. "If I'm in another play-off, bet on the other guy," Sluman said after Langer outlasted him in last year’s Senior Players Championship on the Champions Tour, his third play-off defeat out of three on that tour too.
Eamonn Darcy (W0-L4)
That quirky swing never clicked in extra holes, with four play-off losses from 1976 to ’83.
