The 2026 Players Championship has had six playoffs in its history. The first one came at Sawgrass Country Club, the rest coming at TPC Sawgrass, the tournament’s current location.
The latest was a year ago when Rory McIlroy defeated J.J. Spaun in a Monday finish.
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The Players used a sudden-death format until 2013. That’s when the PGA Tour decided to shake it up and go to something different.
What is the playoff format for the Players Championship?
According to the PGA Tour:
Players tied for the lead after 72 holes will settle the Players in a three-hole aggregate playoff. This format was instituted in 2014 after the tournament had used a sudden-death playoff format in previous years.
The three-hole playoff will use players’ total scores from TPC Sawgrass’ famed trio of closing holes: Nos. 16, 17 and 18.
If there’s still a tie after those three holes, the playoff will move into sudden-death format. Sudden death will start on the island-green 17th before proceeding to No. 18 if necessary.
If there is still a tie, the sudden-death playoff will continue at No. 16 and then 17 and 18.
What are the playoffs at the Players?
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1981: Raymond Floyd def. Barry Jaeckel and Curtis Strange with a par on the first extra hole (Sawgrass Country Club).
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1987: Sandy Lyle def. Jeff Sluman with a par on the third extra hole, No. 18 (TPC Sawgrass).
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2008: Sergio Garcia def. Paul Goydos with a par on the first extra hole, No. 17 (TPC Sawgrass).
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2011: K.J. Choi def. David Toms with a par on the first extra hole, No. 17 (TPC Sawgrass).
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2015: Rickie Fowler def. Kevin Kisner and Sergio Garcia. Fowler and Kisner were tied after the first three-hole aggregate playoff in championship history; Fowler def. Kisner with a birdie on the first sudden-death extra hole, No. 17 (TPC Sawgrass).
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2025: Rory McIlroy def. J.J. Spaun in aggregate three-hole playoff.
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Players Championship playoff format: How does it work?
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