The RBC Heritage has long been one of the best and most exciting events on the PGA Tour, but it's move to becoming a signature event has only increased that. Situated the week following The Masters on the schedule, now golf fans get to see the best in the world still come to play. And for the 2025 RBC Heritage, we were treated to a Sunday to remember.
After Justin Thomas held a commanding 18-hole lead and a much thinner 36-hole lead, he gave it up on Saturday with Si Woo Kim overtaking him and Andrew Novak, a South Carolina native looking to triumph in front of the hometown crowd, tying him. As Sunday's final round played out, Kim faded, but Thomas and Novak were locked into a duel to the very end.
Once Thomas made a par on the 72nd hole of his tournament to post a score at 17-under, still tied with Novak, it seemed like we might be heading for a playoff. Just one week after seeing such a showdown at The Masters, that had golf fans asking what exactly the RBC Heritage playoff format is for the signature event.
RBC Heritage playoff format: What holes are played to decide the winner?
The RBC Heritage playoff format is a sudden-death tiebreaker, meaning that the tied players will play until one of them scores better on a hole and that player will then be declared the winner. At Harbour Town, the playoff will be played repetitively on the 18th hole, a Par 4 measuring 465 yards, and 17th hole, a 160-yard Par 3 on Sunday. The finishing stretch are two of the iconic holes at this course and a great alternation to decide a champion of the event.
When was the last playoff at the RBC Heritage before 2025?
Because Harbour Town is so demanding as a unique tee-to-green test, an RBC Heritage playoff is far from uncommon. In fact, the last playoff was just two years ago in 2023 and two of the last three iterations of the event leading into 2025 had finished in a playoff.
In the 2023 playoff, the first year that this was elevated to a signature event, Matt Fitzpatrick outlasted Jordan Spieth in the extra holes after the pair were tied at 17-under, incidentally. The year prior, Spieth actually prevailed in a playoff, taking down Patrick Cantlay in difficult conditions as the two stars in golf were tied at just 13-under after regulation.
Prior to the pair of Spieth playoffs that ended in different results, the most recent playoff was a bit longer back, coming when Satoshi Kodaira beat Si Woo Kim in the tiebreaker. All told, though, there had been 10 playoffs at the RBC Heritage since 2000 coming into the 2025 tournament.