The Masters playoff format is different to all the other majors in that it is the only one that is sudden-death...
What Is The Masters Playoff Format?
What is the US Masters playoff format if, after the regulation 72-holes, we have a tie at the top of the leaderboard?
The answer quite simply is a sudden death playoff that takes place on the 18th and 10th holes. Those tied at the top will play 18 then 10 and so on until a clear winner emerges.
Related: The best Masters playoffs
In 2013, Adam Scott became the first Australian to don the Green Jacket after defeating Angel Cabrera with a birdie at the 10th.
The 10th and 18th holes are chosen because of their close proximity to each other and the clubhouse.
Adam Scott won his Green Jacket on the 10th green. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
Running side-by-side (and playing up and down the same steep hill), these holes allow the action to unfold in a relatively small space but in front of the largest possible number of fans.
Related: How can I get to The Masters?
You may remember a number of playoffs finishing on the 11th hole, Nick Faldo twice won the Masters on the 11th hole and Larry Mize’s chip-in is one of the tournament’s greatests moments.
Before the change in 2004, players started the sudden-death playoff on the 10th hole and simply played the back nine until there was a winner.
Nick Faldo won two of his three Masters titles in a playoff on the 11th green
The Masters is the only major that employs a sudden-death playoff.
In the event of a tie at the US Open, players are asked to return for an 18-hole strokeplay shoot-out the following day.
Related: How to watch the 2017 Masters
This format is often criticised as golf fans watching both on TV and at the venue itself must return the following day, with the drama of the previous evening often being lost.
Moreover, if one player takes a commanding lead early in the shootout round, it can be less than exciting.
The extraordinary moment Larry Mize’s chip dropped in on the 11th hole to pinch the 1987 Masters from under Greg Norman’s nose
On the plus side, this is perhaps the purest, fairest way of crowning the winner and on what is usually the toughest course of the year is perhaps the most apt way to decide it.
At both the Open and USPGA, playoffs are also strokeplay formats but take place over a fewer number of holes (four at The Open and three at the USPGA).
This strikes a fair balance between allowing the Sunday crowd to stay and watch the action whilst also ensuring the players themselves will not necessarily lose the title with a single errant shot.
Bubba Watson beat Louis Oosthuizen in a playoff in 2012 with his famous boomerang gap wedge out of the trees
The main problem that prevents the Masters committee from opting for this reduced holes format is daylight.
Related: The 10 greatest Masters shots
By the end of the regular 72-holes at Augusta there is limited sunlight left. If the play-off pits two or more competitors against each other without a winner emerging within the first few holes, there is a danger that darkness will cause the event to be concluded on the Monday.
With potential for only one hole being required to split the tied players, it is likely that crowd numbers within the course would see a dramatic drop off if the event went into a fifth day.
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