How it works in the event of a tie

Six players were in the lead. Thirteen were among the five. And one was at the top going into the final round of the 2024 Open Championship on Sunday.

So, yes, a playoff at Royal Troon is possible.

But what does that look like? Scroll forward.

Open championship playoff format

The playoff will be played over four holes – the 352-yard, par-4 1st; site 386, section 4 2; 244 yards, section 3 17; and a 459-yard, 4-18. But what happens when players are tied after that? They will play the 18th again until a winner is announced.

For clarification, here's the official play-by-play announcement from the Open:

Playoff holes In the event of a tie for first place, there will be a four-hole playoff at the 1st, 2nd, 17th and 18th. If they are still tied, a hole-by-hole playoff will be played at the 18th hole only until a winner emerges.”

Have there been playoffs at the Open Championship before?

Yes. Several. The last one? That happened in 2015 at St Andrews, where Zach Johnson defeated Louis Oosthuizen.

Have there been any playoffs at Troon? Yes. Two. In 2004, Todd Hamilton defeated Ernie Els; and in 1989, Mark Calcavecchia defeated Wayne Grady and Greg Norman.

In total, the Open has gone to the playoffs 21 times.

How did the contestants play the qualifying holes in the first three rounds?

Good question. Let's take a look.

Billy Horschel (two under)
1: section, bird, sec
Second: section, bird, sec
17: birdie, par, par
18: par, par, bogey

Daniel Brown (four more)
1: par, par, bogey
2nd: clause, clause
17: par, bogey, bogey
18: birdie, par, double bogey

Justin Rose (one more)
1: par, par, bogey
2nd: clause, clause
17: par, par, bogey
18: par, birdie, par

Xander Schauffele (one more)
1: phase, phase, phase
Second: par, bogey, birdie
17: par., par
18: par, par, bogey

Russell Henley (even section)
1: phase, phase, phase
2nd: clause, clause
17: par., par
18: par., par

Sam Burns (three more)
First: bogey, par, bogey
Second: bogey, clause, par
17: par., par
18: par., par

Thriston Lawrence (one more)
1st: par, bogey, birdie
Second: bogey, bogey, par
17: par., par
18: par, birdie, par

Scottie Scheffler (one more)
1: bogey, clause, par
2nd: clause, clause
17th: bogey, par, birdie
18: birdie, bogey, par

Shane Lowry (two under)
1: section, bird, sec
2nd: clause, clause
17: par., par
18: birdie, birdie, bogey

Nick Piastowski

Golf.com Editor

Nick Piastowski is a Senior Editor at Golf.com and Golf Magazine. In his role, he is responsible for planning, writing and promoting news on the golf course. And when he's not writing about how to hit the golf ball forward and straight, the Milwaukee native is probably playing the game, hitting the ball left, right and short, and drinking a cold beer to wash down his scores. You can contact him about any of these topics – his news, his game or his beer – at [email protected].