PGA Championship playoff format: Tiebreaker rules explained

Breaking down the PGA Championship playoff rules and format for if the leaders are tied at Oak Hill after 72 holes of play. 

Things were always going to be tight at Oak Hill Country Club for the 2023 PGA Championship in difficult conditions on an equally difficult golf course. And coming into the final stretches of the final round on Sunday, we saw as much with Brooks Koepka and Viktor Hovland fighting tooth and nail to try and win the Wanamaker Trophy.

Koepka entered the final 18 holes with a one-stroke lead over Hovland, but the two stalwarts were trading blows throughout the round as they tried to get a leg up on one another. And it was going to come down to a proverbial photo finish at Oak Hill.

And that had fans asking about what the PGA Championship playoff format and rules are for the tiebreaker to determine the winner.

PGA Championship playoff rules: Format for tiebreaker

If the tournament ends 72 holes with two or more players tied for the lead, the PGA Championship playoff format is a three-hole aggregate playoff. The players involved in the playoffs will draw numbers to determine who plays first in the tiebreaker before playing No. 14, then No. 15 and fianlly No. 18 to comprise the three holes.

Should the players be tied in the PGA Championship playoff after the three holes, it will go to a sudden-death playoff where the players will play No. 18, then Nos. 14 and 15 on repeat until a winner is determined.

This is a different format than any other major championship and as The Open Championship has a four-hole playoff, the US Open has a two-hole playoff and The Masters is a sudden-death playoff. PGA Tour events are also a sudden-death playoff.

Last PGA Championship to end in a playoff

We don’t have to look far back to find the last PGA Championship that ended in a playoff. It was just last year at Southern Hills. When Mito Pereira rinsed his tee shot on the 18th hole while in the lead, he allowed Justin Thomas and Will Zalatoris to come back and overtake him, but those two went into a playoff. It was ultimately Thomas that was victorious in the three-hole showdown, taking home the Wanamaker Trophy for the second time.

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