AUGUSTA, Ga. — What could make the final round of the 2025 Masters even more dramatic? How about needing extra holes to decide who walks off wearing the green jacket! That's what we've got with Rory McIlroy and Justin Rose late on Sunday at Augusta National.
Playoffs in major championship come in various shapes and sizes. In fact, none of the four biggest events in men’s golf actually use the same playoff format. The U.S. Open has a two-hole aggregate system in place, the PGA Championship uses three holes and the Open Championship goes with four. (And you might recall that the Players Championship uses three holes, which is how McIlroy took down J.J. Spaun last month at TPC Sawgrass.)
But what is the playoff format at Augusta National? It’s the standard sudden-death format used on the PGA Tour, where the playoff participants keep playing extra holes until a winner is determined. For this year, playoff participants will return to the 18th hole. If still tied, they then play the 10th hole, followed by the 18th again. They will continue to alternate playing Nos. 10 and 18 until a champion is decided.
History of Masters playoffs
Like the other majors, the Masters used to settle ties after 72 holes by coming back the next day for an 18-hole affair. Actually, Augusta National first used a 36-hole playoff format, which was in place when Gene Sarazen defeating Craig Wood to win in 1935. But from then on, it was 18 holes to decide things, which happened on five occasions. Interestingly the five who won those extended playoffs are all legends of the game—Byron Nelson in 1942, Sam Snead in 1954, Arnold Palmer in 1962, Jack Nicklaus in 1966 and Billy Casper in 1970.
Larry Mize celebrates after holing out a birdie chip to beat Greg Norman in a playoff at the 1987 Masters.
But in 1976, Masters co-founder Clifford Roberts announced that the tournament would instead implement a sudden-death playoff to determine a champion. The first time that new format went into effect was 1979, when Fuzzy Zoeller birdied the second playoff hole to beat Ed Sneed and Tom Watson.
Since then, there have been 10 more playoffs, none lasting more than two extra holes. The last happened in 2017, when Sergio Garcia outlasted Justin Rose to claim his long-sought first major championship victory.
If there’s every been a bit of controversy about the Masters playoffs, it’s the fact that a handful have been played under dark skies with sundown fast approaching. Masters officials usually have Sunday’s final round tee times set up a little earlier than Saturday’s third round to create a window of time should a playoff be necessary. But you might recall Nick Faldo's triumph over Scott Hoch in 1989, Tiger Woods' win over Chris DiMarco in 2005 and Adam Scott’s victory over Angel Cabrera in 2013 all couldn't have lasted another hole as sunset hit.
Below is a listing of every playoff in Masters history. Will we add to this list in 2025? Stay tuned!