What are the play-off rules at The PLAYERS?

There have been five play-offs in the storied history of The PLAYERS Championship. 

Raymond Floyd triumphed in the first ever play-off in 1981, defeating Barry Jaeckel and Curtis Strange in sudden-death to lift one of the most prestigious titles on the PGA Tour.

That was the year before The PLAYERS Championship moved to TPC Sawgrass at Ponte Vedra Beach, which has remained the tournament’s home ever since.

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A play-off takes place when there is more than one golfer on the same score at the summit of the leaderboard after 72 holes of regulation play.

Sandy Lyle, KJ Choi, Sergio Garcia and Rickie Fowler have also won play-offs at TPC Sawgrass.

Fowler won the most recent sudden-death showdown at The PLAYERS in 2015, beating Garcia and Kevin Kisner to win his most prestigious tournament to date.

Over the years, the rules and format of play-offs at The PLAYERS have changed. Here is everything you need to know about the play-offs at The PLAYERS Championship…

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The PLAYERS Championship play-off rules and format

The PLAYERS play-offs were sudden-death shootouts until 2013, starting on the iconic par-3 17th hole.

That changed in 2014, when The PLAYERS moved to a three-hole aggregate system, where the player who takes the least amount of shots in the three allocated holes is the champion.

The holes chosen are the final three – 16,17 and 18 – played in order. If a winner is not found, the players move back to the 17th for a shootout.

In 2015, Fowler won The PLAYERS on the sudden-death hole after he tied his three hole play-off score with Kisner.

The PLAYERS Championship celebrated its 50th year in 2024, after Jack Nicklaus became the first winner of the tournament all the way back in 1974.

The winner of the showpiece tournament wins $4.5million.