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Golf Monthly

Sport

Mike Hall

FOUND: What is the masters playoff format | Mind Blowing Facts

Masters Bubba Watson Tiger Woods Sergio Garcia Adam Scott Chris DiMarco Justin Rose Major Augusta National (Organization)

Justin Rose congratulates Rory McIlroy after his playoff win at The Masters in 2025.

The first men's Major of the year, The Masters, is quite unlike any other tournament.

Many traditions and quirks set the tournament apart from the other three, from the boilersuits worn by the caddies to calling the fans patrons.

Perhaps not as well known is the playoff format, which is also different from the other three Majors. So, what happens if there is a tie after 72 holes?

The Masters Playoff Format

If there's a playoff, the first extra hole takes place at the 18th (Image credit: Getty Images)

Unlike the PGA Championship, US Open and The Open, The Masters has a sudden-death playoff format.

That's similar to many PGA Tour events and means that, rather than an aggregate playoff, where the competitors play a set number of holes to decide the winner, the first player to win one of the extra holes on his own is the champion.

That raises the stakes even higher, because there's no coming back if a player nudges ahead in the sudden-death format.

There is method in applying the format to The Masters, because the event's relatively early place in the calendar means the light fades that much sooner in Georgia than later in the season, with a sunset time of around 8pm local time.

The first playoff hole is the 18th, and, should that not determine a winner, players then move to the 10th. The sequence is repeated until someone emerges victorious.

The playoff holes also make a lot of sense because the 18th and 10th run parallel to each other, which means the drama can unfold in a relatively small area of the property, as well as in front of the largest number of patrons.

What Happened In The Last Masters Playoff?

Rory McIlroy beat Justin Rose in a playoff at the 2025 edition of The Masters (Image credit: Getty Images)

Playoffs don't come around that often at The Masters, with 12 since the sudden-death format was introduced in 1976. Only seven of those have come since the turn of the century, while in the 89 previous editions of The Masters, there have been just 18 playoffs in total.

After waiting since 2017, we were perhaps due another, and it arrived in unforgettable circumstances in 2025 when Rory McIlroy edged past Justin Rose after one extra hole to complete the career Grand Slam.

McIlroy had missed a putt minutes earlier that would have completed his in regulation, but he made no mistake the second time around after his brilliant approach shot landed within four feet of the hole and Rose failed to convert his 20-foot birdie putt.

Who Else Won In A Playoff At The Masters?

Tiger Woods beat Chris DiMarco in a playoff in 2005 (Image credit: Getty Images)

The first playoff in the 21st century saw Mike Weir beat Len Mattiace on the first extra hole in 2003.

Then, two years later, Tiger Woods beat Chris DiMarco. After Woods produced the iconic chip on the 16th that prompted Verne Lundquist's famous "in your life" call, Woods bogeyed the final two holes to fall back into a tie.

In the playoff, Woods holed a 15-foot birdie putt to win his fourth Green Jacket and ninth Major title.

For DiMarco, it was a case of history repeating itself as it was his second Major defeat via a playoff in succession after he lost in extra holes to Vijay Singh at the previous year's PGA Championship.

In 2009, Angel Cabrera won in a playoff, beating Kenny Perry and Chad Campbell. The latter was the first to go after the first extra hole, before Cabrera's par putt on the second hole saw off Perry for the title.

Angel Cabrera won on the second extra hole in 2009 (Image credit: Getty Images)

Seven years later, Bubba Watson produced one of the best shots in Masters history during a playoff with Louis Oosthuizen.

The pair parred the first extra hole before Watson hit a wayward tee shot into the pine straw right of the 10th.

From 145 yards, Watson hooked a 52-degree gap wedge around the trees that finished 15 feet from the hole. Rickie Fowler famously said: "Bubba was in the wrong place at the right time." The rest is history.

The following year, Adam Scott claimed his one Major title to date when he beat Cabrera on the second playoff hole.

Scott became the first Australian to win the Masters, prompting compatriot Ian Baker-Finch to share an iconic line during the live coverage: "From Down Under to the top of the world."

In 2017, Sergio Garcia beat Justin Rose for his maiden Major. Any hopes of an epic tussle in the playoff were dashed when Rose hit his drive deep into the trees on the 18th on the first additional hole.

He had to pitch out before making a bogey, while Garcia found the green in regulation and made a birdie to become the first Spaniard to win at Augusta since Jose Maria Olazabal 18 years earlier.