The last time there was a playoff at the U.S. Open, Tiger Woods outlasted Rocco Mediate in a marathon Monday finish in 2008 at Torrey Pines in San Diego.
The U.S. Golf Association’s playoff format back then called for a full 18 holes on the day after the final round, and Woods and Mediate needed an extra 19th hole to decide things.
But that 18-hole playoff format was scrapped in 2018, when the USGA switched to a two-hole aggregate format, followed by sudden death, if needed. The playoff would be set to start shortly after regulation concludes.
If there’s a playoff in 2022, the two-hole aggregate will be played on No. 1 and then No. 18. The sudden death would then rotate between Nos. 1 and 18 until there’s a winner.
There have been 33 playoffs in the history of the U.S. Open. Eight times there were three players who made a playoff. The last three-way playoff was in 1994 and was won by Ernie Els, who held off Loren Roberts and Colin Montgomerie at Oakmont.
The last three U.S. Opens (1913, 1963, 1988) at The Country Club in Brookline, Massachusetts, all required a playoff.
