Quote (TampaNigga @ Aug 15 2011 04:54pm)
i dont think its fair being a 3 hole playoff. Is the pga the only major like this? the masters , open, and british are 18?
18 hole playoff
The 18 hole playoff is the oldest playoff format. The tied players return the next day to play another round of 18 holes, and the player with the lowest score is declared the winner. Should there still be a tie after the 18 holes, then sudden death is normally played.
The men's U.S. Open is the only major tournament that still uses this method of breaking a tie. However, all the men's major championships used it at one time; The Open Championship (British Open) until 1989, the PGA Championship until 1977, and the Masters Tournament until 1979. Indeed, the first playoff in The Masters in 1935 was contested over 36 holes, when Gene Sarazen ovecame Craig Wood. The U.S. Women's Open also used this format until 2007.
[edit] Sudden death
Sudden death is the most common playoff format. The tied participants play one extra hole at a time, with those still tied for the lowest score moving on to the next hole until a winner has been determined. All regular PGA Tour and European Tour tournaments use this system, as does the Masters Tournament. The PGA Championship also used the sudden death format from 1977 to 1999.[1]
Many supporters, including veteran golfer Kenny Perry, support this type of play, feeling that it is best to let momentum decide the match.[2] Tiger Woods, when interviewed immediately after his 2009 U.S. Open victory at Torry Pines, stated that "as a player who's playing well, you want to go more holes. The better player usually wins in more holes. That's how I've always approached it. The more holes you give me, if I'm playing well, I want more holes. Not just one hole, or even three."[3] Others, such as professional golfer Chris DiMarco,[4] claim that it is not fair to gruel through 72 holes and lose the tournament on one bad swing in sudden death.
[edit] Aggregate playoff
An aggregate playoff consists of a series of extra holes, usually three or four, with the player with the lowest cumulative score being declared the winner. If there is still a tie after completion of these holes, then further sudden death holes are usually played. This is widely considered to be the fairest way of deciding a winner, as one bad shot does not eliminate all chances of winning, and is used in two of the four men's major championships. One flaw of this system is that it takes longer to complete, meaning that a tournament may risk not being over before sunset.
The Open Championship was the first major tournament to use the aggregate playoff system when a 4 hole playoff was introduced in 1985. However it was not invoked until Mark Calcavecchia, Greg Norman and Wayne Grady tied at Royal Troon in 1989. Calcavecchia came out on top to win his only major title.[5] Since 2000, the PGA Championship has made use of a 3 hole playoff, having previously used sudden death.[1] The U.S. Senior Open is also decided by means of a 3 hole playoff, as is the U.S. Women's Open, having previously used an 18 hole playoff until 2007.