U.S. Open playoff format, explained: Extra holes rules for 2025 and how tiebreaker works in golf

U.S. Open week marks the return of one of the biggest tournaments in golf, as players compete to etch their name in history.

This year’s tournament heads to Pittsburgh, as Oakmont will host its record 10th U.S. Open in the history of the event. The course has always been a difficult one for golfers, including Dustin Johnson in 2016 when he won his first major.

Oakmont also has a history of hosting U.S. Open playoffs, as there have been three different U.S. Opens that needed extra holes at the course. However, those events had different playoff rules than this year’s tournament will if there’s a tie after 72 holes.

Here’s a breakdown of the playoff rules at the 2025 U.S. Open.

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U.S. Open playoff format 2025

The relatively new U.S. Open playoff goes into effect if two or more players are tied for the lead after 72 holes. The players in the lead will play a two-hole aggregate playoff, with the leader after those two extra holes being declared the winner.

MORE: U.S. Open Winners by year

How extra holes work in golf

There are two different playoff formats in golf that allow a tournament to determine a winner if there is a tie.

1. Sudden Death: Typically, tournaments use a sudden-death playoff format to determine a winner. That means the players tied for the lead will play one hole, and the leader after that hole wins the tournament. If there is still a tie, then the players tied for the lead will keep playing individual extra holes until there is a winner.

2. Aggregate: The aggregate playoff is the less common of the two playoff formats. In this format, players tied for the lead will play a select number of holes before a winner is declared. For example, The Players Championship uses a format in which the tied players golf the final three holes of the course again to determine a winner. 

Three of the four majors use an aggregate playoff, while the Masters uses the sudden death playoff.

MORE: Who has won the most U.S. Open titles in golf history?

U.S. Open playoff change

The U.S. Open used to be famous for its unique playoff format, using an 18-hole aggregate to decide a winner. If two-or-more players were tied after 72 holes on Sunday, they would play an entire extra round on Monday, with the leader after 96 holes being declared the winner. If players were still tied, they would then play a sudden-death playoff on Monday.

However, in 2018, the USGA decided to do away with that playoff format, instead implementing a two-hole aggregate playoff. The reason for this was due to the ever-changing media landscape.

“There was a time when they did make sense before television, before the modern era of wanting everything decided immediately,” former USGA CEO Mike Davis said. “There is no correct way to determine a tie in stroke play… I won’t say it was everybody, but seemingly it was, ‘Why do we have to come back tomorrow?'”

MORE: Phil Mickelson’s majors timeline

U.S. Open playoff history