What Is The Open Playoff Format?

The 2024 Open is finely poised heading into the final round with more than a dozen players still in with a chance of winning. So what happens if there's a tie?

The Open is the game's oldest Major, first played in 1860 at Prestwick Golf Club on the Ayrshire coast in Scotland and given the championship's long and storied history, there have been a fair few playoffs - 21 to be precise.

The first 10 Open playoffs from 1876 to 1973 were held over 36 holes. The next two in 1970 and 1975 were 18-hole playoffs before the R&A changed the format ahead of the 1986 edition.

Since then, every Open playoff has taken place over four holes. If players remain tied at the end of that, it becomes sudden death over the 18th hole until a winner emerges. Mark Calcavecchia was the first to lift the Claret Jug after a four-hole playoff when he defeated Greg Norman and Wayne Grady in 1989 at Royal Troon.

For this year at Royal Troon, a four-hole playoff will be in operation. The routing for the playoff will be holes 1, 2, 17 and 18.

The 1st, 2nd and 18th are par 4s, while the 17th is a par 3. If there is still a tie after the four holes, players will go back down the final hole at Royal Troon in a sudden-death playoff.

If the playoff involves more than two players, those other than the winner will be deemed to have tied for second place regardless of their scores in the playoff.

There have been some notable playoffs in the past. In 1999, Paul Lawrie won The Open at Carnoustie following a four-hole playoff with Justin Leonard and Jean van de Velde. The Scot shot even par, while the other two were both three-over.

In 2007, Padraig Harrington defeated Sergio Garcia in a four-hole playoff to win his first Claret Jug - he shot level compared to Garcia's one-over and, just a couple of years later, Stewart Cink triumphed over Tom Watson at Turnberry.

The most recent playoff took place at St Andrews in 2015, when Zach Johnson beat Louis Oosthuizen and Marc Leishman.

Men's Major playoff formats

Each men's Major has a unique playoff format: