PGA Championship playoff format and rules: 3-hole aggregate tiebreaker used at Whistling Straits

Every major championship has its own way of breaking a tie and the PGA Championship arguably has the most sensible and useful method. Over the years, the format has been altered and changed multiple times but the current rules set out a three-hole aggregate playoff if multiple players are tied after 72 holes.

The last time the PGA Championship came to Whistling Straits, Martin Kaymer defeated Bubba Watson in a three-hole playoff. The holes put in play were the 10th, 17th, and 18th. The 10th and 18th are par-4s, while the 17th is a difficult par-3 right along Lake Michigan. The pin at that par-3 is also tucked way over to the left, a challenging Sunday pin location with the drop-off down towards the lake encroaching just a few feet to the left. In addition to that target, the 18th pin is also dropped way over to the left in the same spot where Bubba put his ball in the water going for it back in 2010. That made it academic and handed the 2010 Wanamaker Trophy to Kaymer.

So if there is a playoff Sunday evening, it’s one where a par will be a good score. It’s a three-hole aggregate but with all the danger, especially at Nos. 17 and 18, a player can be effectively eliminated with one bad swing on one hole. There’s too much trouble and too many big crooked numbers lurking.

The last PGA Championship to go to playoff occurred in 2011, when Jason Dufner stumbled down the stretch at Atlanta Athletic Club, opening the door for Keegan Bradley to take his first major title. That was the fourth time the PGA used the three-hole aggregate playoff. The first time it came into effect was at 2000, that legendary performance by Tiger Woods in that battle with previously unknown Bob May.

The three-hole aggregate is actually the fourth method that the championship has used to break a tie in its history. The entire tournament used to have a different format and was match play from 1916 to 1957 before switching to the more typical stroke play format. When it was match play, the final match would just go to extra holes according to the typical method used for that competition. After stroke play was adopted, an 18-hole extra-day playoff was used to decide a tiebreaker. That’s what the U.S. Open still uses, and it’s not particularly friendly to the modern TV audience who wants a resolution when they’ve been watching the final round all day.

The PGA then moved off the antiquated 18-hole playoff to a sudden death playoff, which was first used in 1977. The sudden death format was then removed for the longer three-hole aggregate game that would be put in play Sunday night at Whistling Straits.