If a playoff is needed to determine the winner of the 152nd Open Championship at Royal Troon, the R&A will 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 (Nos. 1, 2, 17 and 18) with the scores being added up. If there is still a tie between at least two players, sudden death will be used exclusively on the 18th hole with the next lowest score winning.
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 time was in 1876.
The most recent playoff was 2015 at St. Andrews, when Zach Johnson prevailed over Louis Oosthuizen and Marc Leishman.
There have been two multi-hole playoffs at Royal Troon. Mark Calcavecchia defeated Greg Norman and Wayne Grady in 1989 and Todd Hamilton defeated Ernie Els in 2004.
Officials used a three-hole system in 2019 and ’21 (the championship was canceled in 2020 because of the pandemic), but said the aggregate number depends on the venue, and routing worked better for three holes at Royal Portrush and Royal St. George’s.
By comparison, the Masters uses sudden death; the PGA Championship, a three-hole aggregate; and the U.S. Open, a two-hole aggregate.