2023 US Open playoff format: What happens if two or more players are tied after 72 holes?

It’s tight at top of the 2023 US Open leaderboard heading into the final round at Los Angeles Country Club. If we look back to Friday, it appeared as if Rickie Fowler and/or Xander Schauffele could run away with it after both recorded 62s, the lowest score in the history of the tournament. However, the latter has gone backwards and now finds himself five shots behind the former, who has been joined at the top by compartiot Wyndham Clark.

Both leaders are searching for their first ever major victory, while Rory McIlroy, one shot back, has previously stated he feels as if he is also looking for his maiden triumph having failed to win any of the ‘big ones’ since the PGA Championship in August 2014. Nine years is far, far too long when you’re as good as the Northern Irishman is.

How far down the leaderboard do we need to look to see who’s in with a realistic chance of contending? World number one Scottie Scheffler is right in the mix at just three behind Fowler and Clark, while fellow Americans Harris English (four back), Dustin Johnson and Schauffele (both five) will have to go low to put some pressure on the leaders.

US playoff formats: old and new

As is the case heading into the final round of most tournaments, there is every chance that we could see two players (or more) tied at the top of the leaderboard once the 72 holes of regulation play have been completed. So what happens next?

Different tournaments have different playoff formats and even the US Open itself has moved from one format to another in recent years. Up until 2017, players who were tied after four rounds had to come back, usually on Monday, to play another full round. If players still couldn’t be separated, the playoff became sudden death on a hole-by-hole basis.

Prior to the 1950s, however, there was no sudden death, which meant full 18-hole playoffs had to be repeated to find a winner.

How many times has the US Open been decided by a playoff?

The US Open has been decided by a playoff on 33 occasions, the most recently of which came in 2008, when Tiger Woods defeated Rocco Mediate to win the 14th of his 15 majors. That was also one of three instances in which the playoff went beyond five rounds, with Woods beating Mediate on the first hole of sudden death.

Hale Irwin was first to triumph that way against Mike Donald in 1990 (also at the first sudden-death hole), while Ernie Els won on the second hole of sudden death versus Loren Roberts in 1994 after both had competed in the 18-hole playoff with Colin Montgomerie.

What is the current US Open playoff format?

In February 2018, the United States Golf Association revealed that it had moved to change the US Open playoff format after consulting with players, broadcast partners, vendors and fans. The new system is a two-hole aggregate playoff, with the player who has taken the fewest shots to complete the two chosen holes combined running out the winner. If the players takee the same number of shots, the playoff then moves to sudden death.

Which holes will be used for a playoff at Los Angeles Country Club?

The holes selected for the playoff depends on the course but at Los Angeles Country Club, players would go down the 578-yard par-5 first, a realistic birdie chance, and then take on the 18th, a 492-yard dogleg par-4.

We have yet to see a two-hole aggregate playoff since the format change…but there’s a first time for everything.