USGA Announces Revised Playoff Format
Across All Open Championships
Two-Hole Aggregate Playoff to
Determine USGA Open Championships in
2018, if necessary.
LIBERTY CORNER, N.J. (Feb.
26, 2018) – The United States Golf
Association (USGA) today announced
a revised playoff format for all four
of its Open Championships – the
U.S. Open, U.S. Women’s Open,
U.S. Senior Open and U.S. Senior
Women’s Open. Each championship
will implement a two-hole aggregate
playoff in the event of a tie at the end
of 72 holes of stroke play, effective
with the 2018 season.
“We know how important it is to
everyone in the golf world to see play
conclude on the Sunday of a major
championship, and to award the
trophy to the champion,” said USGA
CEO/Executive Director Mike
Davis, who made the announcement
prior to online player registration for
each USGA Open Championship,
which opens next week. “After
receiving input from a variety of
constituents, including players,
fans, volunteers, officials and our
broadcast partners, it clearly came
across as something that everyone
valued, and would benefit from.”
“There is no right or wrong way
to determine a winner in stroke play,
but we’ve seen over the years how the
aggregate playoff has served us well
in both the U.S. Women’s Open and
U.S. Senior Open,” Davis added.
“Two holes will allow a player to
recover from any single mistake,
and at the same time, provide a
memorable, and perhaps dramatic,
experience for all involved.”
In all four USGA Open
Championships,
the
two-hole
aggregate playoff will be used to
break any ties after 72 holes of stroke-
play competition. If the playoff
results in a tie, the tied players would
immediately continue to play off
hole-by-hole (sudden-death format)
until the champion is determined.
In its 117-year history, the U.S.
Open has had 33 playoffs that have
employed 18- and 36-hole formats.
There have been 12 playoffs in U.S.
Women’s Open history. A three-hole
playoff was held for the first time in
2011. The U.S. Senior Open, which
held a three-hole playoff for the first
time in 2002, has had six playoffs in
its championship history.
Online entry applications for
2018 USGA Open Championships
will begin in the first week of March
(https://champs.usga.org/index.
html).
2018 USGA Open Championshi