What Is The Players Championship Playoff Format?

The Players Championship contains arguably the best field in golf every single year and regularly produces a worthy winner from a crop of the PGA Tour's best.

Those who taste glory can bathe in the plethora of perks that come with the title, including a first-prize check of $4.5 million, a significant number of FedEx Cup points and a five-year exemption into all PGA Tour events and the Majors.

With so many potentially life-changing benefits on offer, as well as the prestige that comes with lifting the PGA Tour's flagship event, it's perhaps not surprising that it's often a tight affair, with four of the past five editions decided by just a single stroke.

Despite the almost annual close proximity of the leaderboard after four rounds have been completed, playoffs aren’t particularly commonplace at the event with just five in the competition's 51-year history.

But, from time to time, a playoff is the only way to separate players at the top of the leaderboard after 72 holes. For example, in 2015, Rickie Fowler overcame the challenges of Sergio Garcia and Kevin Kisner to win in a playoff, while four years earlier, KJ Choi lifted the trophy after beating David Toms in a similar manner.

In 2025, if an outright winner isn’t found after 72 holes there will be a three-hole aggregate playoff along the Stadium Course's three signature holes at TPC Sawgrass.

The players will head back to the par-5 16th before completing the par-3 17th and then the par-4 18th. The golfer with the lowest score after the three holes is declared the outright winner.

If there is still a tie after the three holes, the playoff will head to a sudden death shootout, beginning on the island-green 17th. If necessary, from there, it would switch over to the 18th and then back to the 16th before restarting the cycle until a winner is declared.

Players competing in a playoff will certainly face a robust test of their abilities. As well as dealing with any nerves, they will need to get to grips with a 521-yard par-5 16th that, while offering the chance of reaching the green in two, also has a large expanse of water to the right, as well as oak trees and bunkers near the tiered green sloping left to right towards the water.

The par-3 17th - playing just 130 yards in round four - barely needs an introduction given its status as one of the most famous in golf. Needless to say, though, many a pro has come a cropper trying to land on the island green, with hundreds of balls ending up in the water over the years.

As for the 472-yard dogleg-left 18th, there is water down the left and bunkers guarding the tiered green to consider. Overall, given the holes chosen, any playoff will ensure whoever does eventually lift the trophy will have earned it.