PGA Championship Playoff Format: Three-Hole Aggregate Showdown
The PGA Championship uses a three-hole aggregate playoff format to decide winners when players are tied after 72 holes. Players compete across three additional holes, with the lowest total score taking home the Wanamaker Trophy. If they’re still tied after those three holes, the format shifts to sudden death.
This approach replaced the previous sudden-death-only format in 2000 at Valhalla, where Tiger Woods famously defeated Bob May in the first use of the three-hole system.
Since the PGA Championship became a stroke-play event in 1958, there have been 13 playoffs. The current three-hole format has been needed five times, though no playoff has yet required the sudden-death extension after the three holes.
Here’s a look at the three-hole aggregate playoffs in PGA Championship history:
- 2022: Justin Thomas def. Will Zalatoris, Southern Hills CC
- 2011: Keegan Bradley def. Jason Dufner, Atlanta Athletic Club
- 2010: Martin Kaymer def. Bubba Watson, Whistling Straits
- 2004: Vijay Singh def. Chris DiMarco and Justin Leonard, Whistling Straits
- 2000: Tiger Woods def. Bob May, Valhalla Golf Club
This year’s PGA Championship heads to Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte, North Carolina from May 15-18.
The PGA’s three-hole format offers a middle ground between the other men’s majors’ playoff approaches. It’s more substantial than a sudden-death scenario but doesn’t require the full 18-hole playoff that was traditionally used in other championships.
