If a playoff is needed to determine the winner of The Open Championship, the R&A will often utilize a four-hole aggregate scoring system.
If two or more players are tied through 72 holes of regulation, they will compete over four playoff holes with the scores being added up. If there is still a tie between at least two players, sudden death will be used.
The aggregate number, however, depends on the venue. Officials have previously planned for three-hole playoffs at Royal Portrush and Royal St. George’s because of their routing.
The 153rd Open Championship will take place July 17-20 at Royal Portrush in Northern Ireland.
The R&A has used a multi-hole playoff system since 1986. Prior to that, the championship used both 18- and 36-hole playoffs during different eras. The Open has been decided 21 times in a playoff, the first in 1876.
The most recent playoff was 2015 at St. Andrews, when Zach Johnson prevailed over Louis Oosthuizen and Marc Leishman.
By comparison, the Masters uses sudden death, the PGA Championship a three-hole aggregate and the U.S. Open a two-hole aggregate.
