What Does T15 Mean in Golf?

You’re glued to the TV on Sunday afternoon, watching the final round of a big tournament. Your favorite player is making a charge, and as the broadcast flashes the leaderboard, you see their name next to the characters: T15. You know it’s good, but what exactly does it signify? The T in T15 simply means the player is tied for 15th place. This article will break down exactly how ties work in professional golf, why they are so important for prize money and points, and how they are handled differently in the amateur events you might play in yourself.

The Simple Answer: "T" for Tie

At its core, the “T” on a golf leaderboard is straightforward: it stands for "Tie." If you see T15, it means two or more golfers finished the tournament with the exact same total score, and that score was the 15th-best among the field.

Where it can get a little confusing is how this affects the ranking of the players below them. A tie doesn't just mean players share a rank, it means they collectively occupy multiple finishing positions.

Let's imagine a simple scenario where two players, Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas, finish at 10-under par. This is the 15th best score of the week.

• 14th Place: Score of -11
• T15: Jordan Spieth (-10)
• T15: Justin Thomas (-10)
• 17th Place: Score of -9

Notice that there is no 16th place. Spieth and Thomas together take up both the 15th and 16th positions. The next player on the leaderboard, with a score of 9-under par, finishes in 17th place. If three players tied for 15th, they would occupy spots 15, 16, and 17, and the next player down would be in 18th place.

Why Does Golf Have So Many Ties?

Golf tournaments, especially at the professional level, seem to produce an abundance of ties outside of first place. This isn't a coincidence, it's a natural result of the game's format. Consider the factors:

• Large Fields: Most PGA Tour events start with 144 or 156 players.
• Four Rounds: The competition spans 72 holes over four days.
• Stroke Play: The winner is determined by the lowest total number of strokes, not by directly defeating opponents in matches.

With so many golfers playing so many holes, it's almost a statistical certainty that multiple players will end up with identical scores. A missed 5-foot putt here or a holed bunker shot there, spread across 72 holes, can easily lead to a logjam at various points on the leaderboard. Unlike sports with direct head-to-head outcomes for a single winner and loser, golf allows for a spectrum of results, breeding these common ties.

You even see this in your local club championship. After a weekend of play, it’s not unusual to see several people tied for third place in their flight or knotted for the low-net prize.

The Big Exception: A Tie for First Place

While a T15 or T42 is settled with some simple math (which we'll get to next), a tie for first place is special. You can't have Co-Masters champions. Every tournament needs one outright winner to take home the trophy. This is solved with a playoff.

When two or more players are tied for the lead after 72 holes, the tournament isn't over. They head back out to the course for extra holes until a winner is decided.

Sudden-Death Playoffs

The vast majority of professional tournaments, including those on the PGA Tour, use a sudden-death playoff format. Here’s how it works:

1. All tied players go to a pre-determined hole (usually the 18th).
2. They all play the hole.
3. If one player scores lower than all the others on that hole, they are declared the winner, and the tournament is over.
4. If two or more players are still tied, they move to the next designated hole (often the 10th or 17th) and repeat the process until one player posts a lower score on a hole.

A few major championships historically used different formats, like the U.S. Open's former 18-hole playoff, but the exciting, nerve-wracking sudden-death model has become the standard for determining a tournament's champion.

How Ties Affect Prize Money and Points

This is where understanding ties gets really interesting. A player finishing T15 isn't just a fun fact, it has a major financial impact. A tie for any position other than first is handled by a simple formula that equally distributes prize money and ranking points.

The Add-and-Divide Rule for Prize Money

Professional golf purses have a specific payout for every finishing position. To figure out what tied players earn, tournament officials "add and divide."

Let's go back to our T15 example and say three players tied for 15th place. Together, they occupy the prize money slots for 15th, 16th, and 17th.

Here’s the step-by-step math using a hypothetical prize breakdown:

• Step 1: Identify the prize money for each occupied position.
  • Prize for 15th Place: $300,000
  • Prize for 16th Place: $280,000
  • Prize for 17th Place: $260,000
• Step 2: Add the prize money together.
  • $300,000 + $280,000 + $260,000 = $840,000
• Step 3: Divide the total by the number of tied players.
  • $840,000 / 3 = $280,000

In this scenario, each of the three players who finished T15 would receive a check for $280,000. The next player on the leaderboard finishes in 18th place and receives the 18th place prize money.

What About FedExCup or World Ranking Points?

The exact same "add-and-divide" logic applies to the valuable points that players are competing for, such as FedExCup points (which determine PGA Tour playoff eligibility) and Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) points (which help players qualify for major championships).

Let's again use our a 3-way tie for 15th. We'll use simple, hypothetical point values:

• Points for 15th Place: 50
• Points for 16th Place: 48
• Points for 17th Place: 46

Adding them together (50 + 48 + 46) gives you a total of 144 points. Dividing by the three players means each earns 48 points.

This is why you see pros grind so hard over a 6-foot putt on the 72nd hole, even when they're not in contention to win. The difference between finishing T15 and T20 can mean tens of thousands of dollars and vital points that shape their entire season and career trajectory.

Beyond the Leaderboard: The Real-World Impact of a T15

For a professional golfer, a T15 finish is more than just a decent week, it's a building block for their career. Sustaining a career in professional golf is about consistency, and top-20 finishes like a T15 are the lifeblood. Such a result achieves several things:

• A Significant Payday: As seen above, a T15 finish in a standard PGA Tour event can easily be a six-figure check, covering expenses and providing a handsome living.
• Securing Status: The FedExCup points earned help players maintain their PGA Tour card for the following season, ensuring they have a place to play.
• Access to Bigger Events: Consistent high finishes improve a player's official world ranking, which is a primary gateway to qualifying for the four major championships and other elite, limited-field events.

As a coach, I always tell aspiring pros that it's easy to focus on just winning, but the path to a long-term, successful career is paved with consistent T25s, T15s, and Top 10s. Every single stroke on Sunday matters.

What About Ties in Amateur Golf?

What happens if you find yourself tied with your rival in your club championship? Unless you’re tied for the overall championship (which may involve an on-course playoff), most amateur ties are broken using a "scorecard playoff."

This method prevents the hassle of sending multiple groups back onto the course. The tournament host will define the rules, but a common breakdown is:

1. The Back Nine: The player with the lower score over the final 9 holes (holes 10-18) wins the tie.
2. The Last Six: If they are still tied, the lower score over the last 6 holes played (13-18) wins.
3. The Last Three: If still tied, the countback goes to the last 3 holes (16-18).
4. The Final Hole: If, remarkably, they are still tied, the winner is determined by the lowest score on the 18th hole.

This is why you always want to finish strong! It is always a good idea to check the tournament rules sheet before you tee off, so you know exactly how any ties for net or gross prizes in your flight will be settled.

Final Thoughts

When you see T15 on a golf leaderboard, you now know it represents players who are tied for that position. While a tie for the championship trophy leads to a live playoff, all other ties are resolved by pooling the prize money and ranking points for the occupied spots and splitting them evenly among the players.

Understanding these details can make watching professional golf more engaging, but it's another thing to apply expert knowledge to your own game. When you're standing over a ball with a tricky lie or deciding on a strategy for a risk-reward par-5, having guidance in that moment is what makes a real difference. This is where we designed Caddie AI to help. It acts as your personal 24/7 golf coach, ready to analyze tough shots and provide smart course strategy right when you need it, so you can stop guessing and start playing with the kind of confidence that leads to better scores.