What Is The US Open Playoff Format?

The 2024 US Open has been a tight contest throughout, with the championship coming right down to the wire on Sunday evening.

With such a close battle taking place, a playoff could on the cards, so let's take a look at what the format is for extra holes in the US Open, which is slightly different to PGA Tour events and other Major championships - and different to previous US Open playoffs.

The fact the Pinehurst No.2 edition of the Major is producing a close contest is not unusual, and there have been plenty of times where extra holes have been needed to determine the winner over the years.

Playoffs have been required on no fewer than 33 occasions in the 129-year history of the US Open. In the past, there would be an 18-hole playoff to determine the winner, although that wasn't the most practical way to settle the contest, and in 2018, the USGA scrapped the format in favor of the one in place today.

US Open Playoff Rules

In the event of a tie at the end of the regulation 72 holes, a two-hole aggregate playoff will take place on Sunday evening as the remaining players aim for one final push to claim one of the most prestigious titles in the game - America's national championship. If they still can't be separated after two extra holes, it then becomes a sudden-death playoff until someone prevails.

That format is unique among the four Majors. In contrast, The Masters goes straight to sudden death, the PGA Championship features a three-hole playoff, while four extra holes are the norm at The Open.

When Was The Most Recent US Open Playoff?

The most recent plaoff at the US Open came 16 years ago, when Tiger Woods and Rocco Mediate faced an 18-hole decider on the Monday at the Torrey Pines tournament. 

Even that wasn't enough to separate them, and Woods finally won the trophy after the first sudden-death hole, drawing a close to a five-day contest.

Considering there have been 33 playoffs in the US Open history, another one is overdue. Indeed, the current 16-year wait for extra holes is the longest gap in the history of the tournament.

Before Woods and Mediate's epic tussle in 2008, the most recent playoff had been in 2001, when Retief Goosen beat Mark Brooks.