What is the Players Championship playoff format?

It’s not often we see a blowout victory at TPC Sawgrass. So, with that in mind, here’s a refresher on the Players Championship playoff format.

It never hurts to be on top of the Players Championship playoff format – particular when the PGA Tour’s flagship event is as competitive as it is.

Indeed, 24 of the 50 editions of The Players to date – including four of the last five – have been settled by either a single stroke in regulation play, or a playoff.

A brief history of Players Championship playoffs

Playoffs at The Players were originally sudden-death affairs. The extra holes would originally be held on a hole rotation of 15-16-17-18 until there was a winner, but that later changed to 17-18-16-17-18.

1981

Played at Sawgrass Country Club, this was the last Players before the tournament moved a couple of miles up the road to it’s current and permanent home.

The sudden-death playoff lasted just one hole, with a par at the par-3 15th from Raymond Floyd enough to see off Curtis Strange and Barry Jaeckel, who could only manage bogey.

1987

Sandwiched between his Open and Masters triumphs was the third biggest victory of Sandy Lyle’s career – but he required extra holes to do it.

Having finished at 14-under alongside Jeff Sluman, the pair returned to the par-5 15th, where they both made par. They couldn’t be separated at the par-3 17th, either, so it went to the par-4 18th, where a bogey from Sluman handed Lyle the win and a $180,000 payday.

More from The Players…

• Betting tips

• Prize money

• Cut rules

• How to play TPC Sawgrass

2008

We had to wait more than 20 years for more Players playoff drama.

By this point, the playoff had been changed to start at the famous 17th. And that is as far as it got when Paul Goydos found the water, meaning Sergio Garcia merely had to stay dry to win the title.

2011

It was a not-too different story in 2011, when KJ Choi and David Toms went back to 17 in a bid to find a winner.

Both found the green before lagging lengthy birdie putts to around three feet, but Toms inexplicably lipped out his par putt coming back and Choi had the simplest task to take the title.

2015

In 2013, the Players playoff was changed to a three-hole aggregate format more in keeping with the major championships.

With Rickie Fowler, Sergio Garcia and Kevin Kisner all tied at 12-under through 72 holes, the trio played 16, 17 and 18 again in a bid to find a champion. Garcia’s par-par-bogey meant he was eliminated, while Fowler and Kisner – who both birdied the 17th and played the extra holes in 1-under – returned to the iconic island green, where Fowler again managed to find a two and the biggest win of his career.

What is the Players Championship playoff rule now?

The Players playoff format today is the same as it was when Fowler was victorious 10 years ago.

Any players tied for 1st after 72 holes of regulation play will return play a three-hole playoff over the 16th, 17th and 18th.

If any players are still tied at that point, the playoff will revert to sudden-death mode, starting on 17, then 18, then 16, and back to 17 if needed, and so on until there is a winner.