The leaders have reached the back nine on Sunday at the 2026 Masters, which means the tournament has officially begun. How it will end is still anyone’s guess, but it wouldn’t be a shocker if it went to a playoff. And the playoff format at the Masters is different than it is for golf’s other three majors.
Where the PGA Championship, U.S. Open and Open Championship all use aggregate, multi-hole playoffs to settle ties, Augusta National goes sudden-death: the first player to win a hole outright is the champion. In a playoff with more than two competitors, any player who doesn’t match the low score on a hole is eliminated.
Playoffs begin on No. 18. If that hole doesn’t produce a winner, the playoff moves to No. 10, and the two-hole rotation repeats until a winner emerges. The format makes sound logistical sense, as the 18th and 10th run mostly parallel to each other, making it easier on both spectators and competitors. It also helps ensure that the competition wraps up before sunset, which falls at around 8 p.m. local time.
In 89 prior playings of the Masters, the tournament has gone to a playoff 17 times. On the last two occasions, Justin Rose lost in sudden death, first to Sergio Garcia in 2017 and then last year to Rory McIlroy. As of this typing, Rose is in second place, one shot back of McIlroy. Will history repeat? We’ll know soon.
