What is the the British Open playoff format?

It’s always a special moment at a major championship when the winner is decided in a playoff, but what is the playoff format at the British Open?

Royal Birkdale Golf Club will play host to the 2017 British Open, which will tee off on Thursday, July 20 from the course in North West England. As the third major of the season, The Open Championship is often one of the most exciting of the year. That’s largely because of the degree of difficulty. And with most of the field just trying to stay near even-par, that increases the likelihood of a playoff at the British Open.

One of the beautiful things about golf is that the players have to adapt to rules for each tournament. That’s especially true when it comes to playoff format. There are different idiosyncrasies to how each tournament does it, even at the majors. And the British Open is no exception to that.

With that being said, the British Open actually may have the fairest and most exciting way to decide. A long time ago, it used be settled by a 36-hole playoff, but that was truncated to an 18-hole until 1986. That’s when the current rules were adopted.

Now, the British Open playoff format is a four-hole aggregate. What that means is that the golfers who are tied for the lead at the end of 72 holes will play four holes: Nos. 14, 16, 17 and 18. The player that posts the lowest score on that short run will be declared the winner. Should the two players still be tied after the four holes, they’ll go to sudden death.

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A course like Royal Birkdale lends itself to a high probability of a playoff. Even with the best golfers in the world, they’re just trying not to go too far over-par. And when that type of tournament is in effect, it means a lot of close contention that could lead to a playoff. So be on the look out for the four-hole aggregate at the 2017 British Open.