British Open playoff 2026: The format, rules and holes played at Royal Birkdale
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SOUTHPORT, England — Nine players sit within five shots of 54-leader Sam Burns to start the final round of the British Open. Perhaps then it’s a reasonable thought to brush up on how the R&A conducts a playoff in the event of a tie after 72 holes. Plus, given the fact there hasn’t been a playoff since 2015, the second-longest stretch of time without on in the last 50 years, you might say we’re due, so why not take a minute to explore the Open’s playoff particulars.
The reason the question is relevant is the fact that unlike at a standard PGA Tour event, the Open playoff isn’t a sudden-death contest. Instead, the R&A is using a three-hole aggregate-score playoff to determine who will claim the claret jug. All those players who are tied after 72 holes at Royal Birkdale will play the 14th, 15th and 18th holes. The low score among the players when you add up all three holes is the winner.
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Three holes? Doesn’t the R&A generally have a four-hole playoff? If you're asking that question, you're a pretty keen playoff observer. Indeed, the R&A often has a four-hole playoff, but a three-hole playoff was in place at Royal Portrush in 2019 and 2025 and for Royal St. George's in 2021 due to logistical issues that made that number a better fit for both courses. But the preference is for four holes, having used that for playoffs in 1999, 2002, 2004, 2009 and 2015. Prior to 1989, a 36-hole and 18-hole playoff was used.
And what if there’s still a tie after the three holes? Then the R&A does switch to hole-by-hole sudden death, playing the 18th hole repeatedly until a winner emerges.
As previously mentioned, the last time there was a playoff in the Open Championship was 2015, when Zach Johnson prevailed over Marc Leishman and Louis Oosthuizen at the Old Course at St. Andrews.
For the curious, here are all the playoffs that have taken place since the adoption of the four-hole format: 1989, Troon: Mark Calcavecchia (-1) df. Wayne Grady (+1) and Greg Norman (E) 1995, St. Andrews: John Daly (-1) df. Costantino Rocca (+3) 1999, Carnoustie: Paul Lawrie (E) df. Jean Van de Velde (+3) and Justin Leonard (+3) 2002, Muirfield: Ernie Els (E/E) df. Thomas Levet (E/+1), Stuart Appleby (+1), Steve Elkington (+1) 2004, Royal Troon: Tood Hamilton (E) df. Ernie Els (+1) 2007, Carnoustie: Padraig Harrington (E) df. Sergio Garcia (+1) 2009, Turnberry: Stewart Cink (-2) df. Tom Watson (+4) 2015, St. Andrews: Zach Johnson (-1) df. Louis Oosthuizen (E) and Marc Leishman (+2)
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