Golf playoff
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When a golf tournament is tied after regulation, various playoff systems are used to determine a winner.
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[edit] Sudden Death
The most common format; the tied participants play one extra hole at a time until the tie is broken. Supporters of this version say that it is the quickest, easiest, and most efficient way of deciding a winner. Others claim that it is not fair to gruel through 72 holes and lose the tournament on one bad swing in sudden death. Nonetheless, all regular PGA Tour tournaments use this system, as well as the Masters Tournament. The PGA Championship used the sudden death format from 1977 to 1999.
[edit] Aggregate Playoff
In this version, a series of extra holes are played. The player with the lowest total score wins. If there is still a tie, extra holes (i.e. sudden death) are played. This is widely considered to be the fairest way of deciding a winner. One flaw of this system is that it takes longer to complete, so a tournament risks not be over before dark. The British Open was the first to use this system; the competitors play a series of 4 holes. In the PGA Championship, it is 3 holes.
The U.S. Senior Open is also decided in this manner.
[edit] 18-Hole Playoff
The oldest playoff format, the tied players return the next day to play another round of 18 holes; lowest score wins. Should there still be a tie, sudden death is played. The major flaw with this system is that all of the players, spectators, and staff involved with the tournament have to return for another day, and television must cancel its regular programming to show the playoff. Still, it is exciting to watch another full round with the tournament's best players. The U.S. Open is the only tournament that still uses this version. However, all major championships used it at one time; the British Open until 1989, the PGA Championship until 1977, and the Masters Tournament until 1979. In fact, the Masters played 36 holes for its first playoff in 1935. The U.S. Women's Open also uses this format.
[edit] Casual Rounds
There are also several ways to break ties between players in casual rounds of golf, where it is not possible to return to the course to playoff the tie. Although many casual players usually let the round stand as a tie, these methods are often found in multi-team scramble tournaments where an outright winner must be determined.
One method is to declare the player or team making the most birdies the winner. Alternatively (or if both sides made equal birdies), the side with the least amount of bogeys wins.
Another method is to see which side scored lowest on the #1 handicap hole. If the sides posted the same score on the #1 handicap hole, then the #2 handicap hole is checked, and so on until the tie is broken.
One popular tiebreaker is to hold a putting and/or chipping contest on the practice green after the round. The winner of the short game contest is declared the winner of the match.
