How the playoff format works at the PGA Championship

The entire weekend at Valhalla Golf Club has been eventful — even for reasons that extended beyond the golf course. But as the top of the leaderboard vied for the Wanamaker Trophy, we were looking at a crowded field and potential for a playoff.

With Xander Schauffele, Viktor Hovland and Bryson DeChambeau all separated by a couple strokes, the golfers would head to a three-hole playoff in the event of a tie.

This is how it would work via PGAtour.com:

If the lead is tied after 72 holes, a three-hole aggregate playoff will ensue. Participants will draw numbers to determine who tees off first. The playoff holes will be Nos. 13, 17 and 18 at Valhalla Golf Club. Whichever player has the lowest combined score over the three holes will be deemed the champion. In the event of a tie after three playoff holes, the playoff will move to a sudden-death format, with the rotation of holes as follows: Nos. 18, 13, 17 and 18 repeated.

It’s been a couple years since we’ve seen the PGA Championship head into a playoff under the current format. The last time was when Justin Thomas defeated Will Zalatoris in 2022.