THE fight for this year’s Masters crown and the famous Green Jacket is reaching fever pitch.
Rory McIlroy and Justin Rose are battling it out in a topsy-turvy 2025 final.
MASTERS 2025 LIVE BLOG
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But as we all know, golf is unpredictable and things can change in an instant – and the prospect of a playoff is very much on the table.
How does playoff format work at The Masters?
On a golf leaderboard, players can finish tied for any position – except first.
There can only be one winner at the Masters this weekend and a playoff helps decide that scenario.
If any number of players at the top of the leaderboard finish on the same score after four days of tough competition, they will enter the playoff.
At The Masters, they play what is called a sudden-death format.
Instead of a lengthy playoff, this system is designed to be as fast and exciting as possible.
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The players will first play the 18th hole and see who can post the best score.
If everyone shoots the same, the playoff will continue to the 10th hole where the competitors will again attempt to post the lowest score.
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The mini-shootout will continue between these two holes until a winner is found.
2017 was the last time the Masters went to a playoff, with Justin Rose and Sergio Garcia the two who couldn’t be separated at the top of the leaderboard.
The Spaniard ended up victorious after just one hole after Rose shanked his drive into the trees, while Sergio birdied to take the Green Jacket.
This sudden-death format is only used in the Masters, with the US Open employing a two-hole aggregate playoff.
And at both the Open and USPGA, playoffs are stroke-play formats but take place over a fewer number of holes (four at The Open and three at the USPGA).
