Open Championship playoff format: How it works in the event of a tie

Six players were within a stroke of the lead. Thirteen were within five. And one was at the top entering the 2024 Open Championship’s final round on Sunday. 

So, yes, a playoff at Royal Troon could happen. 

But what does that look like? Scroll on. 

Open Championship playoff format

A playoff will be played over four holes — the 352-yard, par-4 1st; the 386-yard, par-4 2nd; the 244-yard, par-3 17th; and the 459-yard, par-4 18th. But what happens if the players are tied after that? They’ll play the 18th again until a winner is crowned. 

For clarity, here is the official playoff announcement from the Open:

“Playoff holes In the event of a tie for first place, there will be a four-hole playoff over the 1st, 2nd, 17th and 18th holes. If still tied, a hole-by-hole playoff will be played over the 18th hole only until a winner emerges.”

Have there been playoffs at the Open Championship before?

Yes. Several. The last one? That came in 2015 at St Andrews, where Zach Johnson prevailed over Louis Oosthuizen. 

Have there been playoffs at Troon? Yes. Two. In 2004, Todd Hamilton prevailed over Ernie Els; and in 1989, Mark Calcavecchia prevailed over Wayne Grady and Greg Norman. 

In all, the Open has gone to a playoff 21 times. 

How have the contenders played the playoff holes over the first three rounds?  

Good question. Let’s take a look. 

Billy Horschel (two under)
1st: par, birdie, par
2nd: par, birdie, par
17th: birdie, par, par
18th: par, par, bogey

Daniel Brown (four over)
1st: par, par, bogey
2nd: par, par, par
17th: par, bogey, bogey
18th: birdie, par, double bogey

Justin Rose (one over)
1st: par, par, bogey
2nd: par, par, par
17th: par, par, bogey
18th: par, birdie, par  

Xander Schauffele (one over)
1st: par, par, par 
2nd: par, bogey, birdie
17th: par, par, par
18th: par, par, bogey

Russell Henley (even par)
1st: par, par, par
2nd: par, par, par
17th: par, par, par
18th: par, par, par 

Sam Burns (three over)
1st: bogey, par, bogey
2nd: bogey, par, par
17th: par, par, par
18th: par, par, par 

Thriston Lawrence (one over)
1st: par, bogey, birdie
2nd: bogey, bogey, par
17th: par, par, par
18th: par, birdie, par 

Scottie Scheffler (one over)
1st: bogey, par, par
2nd: par, par, par
17th: bogey, par, birdie
18th: birdie, bogey, par  

Shane Lowry (two under)
1st: par, birdie, par
2nd: par, par, par
17th: par, par, par
18th: birdie, birdie, bogey  

Nick Piastowski

Golf.com Editor

Nick Piastowski is a Senior Editor at Golf.com and Golf Magazine. In his role, he is responsible for editing, writing and developing stories across the golf space. And when he’s not writing about ways to hit the golf ball farther and straighter, the Milwaukee native is probably playing the game, hitting the ball left, right and short, and drinking a cold beer to wash away his score. You can reach out to him about any of these topics — his stories, his game or his beers — at nick.piastowski@golf.com.

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