One player was three strokes out of the lead. Two players were four back. Three were five back. Five were six back. And one was at the top entering the 2025 PGA Championship’s final round on Sunday.
So, yes, a playoff at Quail Hollow Club could happen.
But what does that look like? Scroll on.
How the PGA Championship’s playoff works
The PGA Championship’s playoff format uses a three-hole aggregate format.
Here is the official word from the event’s communications team:
“In the event of a tie for first place after 72 holes, there will be a three-hole aggregate score playoff on holes No. 16, No. 17 and No. 18. If still tied, there will be a hole-by-hole playoff beginning on hole No. 18, and if still tied, holes No. 16, No. 17 and No. 18 repeated until there is a winner.”
Only five PGA Championships have needed the three-hole aggregate playoff, the first of which came at Valhalla in 2000, when Tiger Woods beat Bob May. The last time the PGA Championship needed a playoff, Justin Thomas beat Will Zalatoris at the 2022 PGA Championship.
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.
