2024 PGA Championship: Playoff Rules at Valhalla Explored

There is a likelihood that the winner of the 106th PGA Championship will not be decided in 72 holes. The leaderboard looks packed with fifteen players within five shots of the lead after the moving day. Valhalla, which has a reputation for delivering late drama, might once again play host to a thrilling tiebreaker. 

The par-71, 7605-yard layout has witnessed a playoff twice previously. The last was in 2000, and the first was in 1996 when Mark Brooks bested Kenny Perry. Here is how the business will proceed if the 72nd hole is not enough to churn out the winner.

The PGA of America’s playoff rule explained

Unlike the PGA Tour playoffs, the PGA of America follows an aggregate three-hole format. That means the total score of all three playoff holes will be taken into account to decide the eventual winner. If that fails to break the tie, there will be a sudden-death playoff at the PGA Championship. 

This year, the tied players will tee off at the par-4,13th, which has seen a lot of long drives and birdies today. Then they will move to the par-4, 7th, and par-5, 18th holes. The scoring average at 18th is 4.46 with 23 bogeys, the highest this weekend. In contrast, 13th has played as one of the most drivable holes today, already getting three eagles and 11 birdies in the final round. 

In the event of a sudden-death playoff, tied golfers will play the 570-yard 18th hole again. As long as the tie remains in place, they will move to 13th, 17th, and 18th again. In sudden death, the first player to have an edge over his peers walks away with the Wanamaker Trophy. 

How many times has the PGA Championship been headed to a playoff? 

Since moving to a stroke play format in 1958, there have been 13 playoffs in the history of the PGA Championship. Most recently, in the 2022 PGA Championship, Justin Thomas netted his second major after a late playoff. A Mito Pereira mistake on the final hole in regulation offered the 13-time PGA Tour winner an unlikely shot at victory. Thomas outmatched his compatriot, Will Zalatoris, in the three-hole aggregate playoff. 

But the most famous playoff in the history of the major championship, and perhaps in any major championship, was Tiger Woods’s dramatic triumph against unlikely challenger Bob May. Woods, on his quest to hold all four majors at the same time—since known as the Tiger Slam—birdied the 17th and 18th holes in regulation to force a playoff. Woods called the 7-footer on the final hole the most important putt of his career. In the playoffs, the 15-time Major Champion beat May by one shot. 

Rory McIlroy separated himself from the pack the last time the PGA Championship was played at Valhalla, avoiding a playoff. Notably, the Open Championship follows a four-hole aggregate playoff, whereas the U.S. Open has two two-hole tiebreakers. On the other hand, the Masters opt for a sudden-death playoff.