What happens if there is a tie in the British Open?
The 2022 Open Championship at St Andrews Old Course is expected to go to the wire, with some anticipating more than 72 holes being needed.
As we started the final day, Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy and Norway’s Victor Hovland led the way on -16 after three rounds. There was a star-studded and hungry pack behind them and many experts were anticipating a strong finish for several of them which could see the St Andrews crowd witness a tied finish in the 150th edition of the famous Open Championship.
**Follow the climax to the 2022 Open**
How does the playoff work in the Open?
As you’d expect, if any of the players finish the 72 holes with a score lower than the rest, then they will lift the most prestigious of golfing trophies, the Claret Jug. But if two of more players end the four days with the same score, then we’ll be heading into a playoff, one that differs from other PGA Tour events.
Here we will see the leaders head into a four-hole contest - which consists of repeating the 1st, 2nd, 17th and 18th - and the lowest aggregate score takes the title. If we still can’t separate the players then they will go back and forth on the Old Course 18th until a winner is determined.
What benefits does the Open winner get?
As well as the prestige and jug replica for the mantlepiece, the winning player will get a five-year PGA Tour exemption and a lifetime exemption for the Open Championship, where ‘lifetime’ means until they reach 60 years of age.
An exemption is also handed to them for the next five editions of the Masters, the US Open and the PGA Championship, not to mention them adding some 600 FedEx Cup points to their tally.