The leaders have reached the back nine on Sunday at Masters 2026which means the tournament has officially started. How it ends is still anyone’s guess, but it wouldn’t be shocking if it went to a playoff. And the playoff format at the Masters is different from that of golf’s other three championships.
Where The PGA ChampionshipThe US Open and The Open Championship all use stacked, multi-hole playoffs to resolve ties, Augusta National goes to sudden death: the first player to win a full hole is the champion. In a playoff with more than two competitors, any player not matching the low score on a hole is eliminated.
The playoffs begin at no. 18. If this hole does not produce a winner, the playoff moves to number 10 and the two-hole rotation is repeated until a winner is produced. The format makes sound logistical sense, as the 18th and 10th run largely parallel to each other, making it easier for both spectators and competitors. It also helps ensure that the contest ends before sunset, which falls around 8:00 PM local time.
In the previous 89 Masters appearances, the tournament has gone to a playoff 17 times. In the last two cases, Justin Rose lost in sudden death, first to Sergio Garcia in 2017 and then last year to Rory McIlroy. As of this writing, Rose is in second place, one shot behind McIlroy. Will history repeat itself? We will know soon.
