When 72 holes aren't enough to decide a winner, golf delivers some of its most memorable drama: the playoff. The raw tension of players battling one-on-one, with a championship on the line, is why we watch. This article will walk you through the longest, most grueling playoffs in golf history, uncover the all-time record, and, as a coach, give you a little insight into the mental fortitude required to survive them.
Before we get into the record books, it's helpful to understand how playoffs work. Think of it as overtime in golf. After four rounds, if two or more players are tied for the lead, they continue playing extra holes until a single winner emerges. For decades, the format and length could vary wildly, leading to some epic battles of attrition.
There are two main types of playoffs you'll see in professional golf:
It's the sudden-death format that has given us the true marathons - nail-biting duels that have pushed players to their absolute physical and mental limits.
To find the longest playoff in PGA Tour history, we have to go way back to 1949. The event was the Motor City Open in Detroit, and the protagonists were two titans of the era: Dr. Cary Middlecoff, a dentist-turned-golfer known for his slow, deliberate play, and Lloyd Mangrum, a tough World War II veteran with a smooth, rhythmic swing.
After 72 holes, the two were deadlocked. They headed to a sudden-death playoff, expecting a swift conclusion. What happened next etched their names into the record books forever.
They started on the 10th hole, and both made par. They went to the 11th. Par again. They matched scores on the 12th, 13th, 14th… you get the picture. Every time one player seemed to have an advantage, the other would hole a clutch putt to extend the match. As they completed a full nine holes of the playoff, neither player had given an inch. They had matched each other shot for a shot, par for exhausting par.
Now heading back to the first tee for what would be their 10th playoff hole, another opponent entered the fray: darkness. The gallery was struggling to see the ball, and the players were feeling the mental and physical strain. They halved the 10th hole. They halved the 11th hole. After 11 grueling playoff holes without a winner, the tournament officials decided enough was enough. With visibility near zero, they called the match a draw.
Middlecoff and Mangrum were declared co-champions, splitting the prize money. The result was so unusual that the PGA Tour Competition Committee put a new rule in place: no more co-champions. From then on, if darkness suspended a playoff, it would resume the next day until there was one clear winner. Because of this rule change, the 11-hole tie from 1949 remains an unbreakable record on the PGA Tour.
Since the death of the co-champion, the modern PGA Tour record for a sudden-death playoff stands at eight holes. It’s a milestone that has been reached on five separate occasions, each creating its own legendary story of perseverance.
Long before huge purses and global television coverage, players fought for every dollar. In the 1965 Cajun Classic, Ken Venturi and Dick Shute locked horns in a marathon. Hole after hole, neither could close the door. They traded pars in a test of pure consistency, a true war of attrition. Finally, on the 8th extra hole, Venturi managed to seal the victory, putting an end to one of the longest head-to-head battles of the era.
This is a more recent classic. PGA Tour rookie John Huh found himself in a playoff with veteran Robert Allenby in Mexico. For a rookie trying to claim his first win, the pressure should have been unbearable. Allenby was a seasoned winner, known for his grit. But Huh was unflappable.
Over nearly two hours, they traded blows. Allenby had a 12-foot putt for the win on the first extra hole and missed. Huh had a 6-foot putt for the win on the fifth extra hole and missed. The pressure mounted, shots went slightly awry, and both players had to dig deep with clutch up-and-downs. Finally, on the 8th playoff hole, Allenby found a hazard. Huh hit a rock-solid shot, made his par, and the rookie walked away with a tour-de-force victory that took nearly 5 hours in total.
Golf fans got a powerful reminder of how intense a long playoff can be at the 2021 Travelers Championship. Harris English, a solid veteran, went up against a lesser-known but incredibly determined Kramer Hickok. They traded blows on the 18th hole before moving to the 17th. Back and forth they went. Hickok made an incredible par save from the water on the 7th extra hole to stay alive.
The entire finale felt like a heavyweight boxing match, with each fighter absorbing blows and refusing to go down. Finally, on the group’s 8th time playing a playoff hole, English drained a bending 28-foot birdie putt to finally claim the title, sinking to his knees in a mixture of exhaustion and exhilaration.
While the PGA Tour record is stuck at 11, the longest playoffs in professional golf have stretched even further on other official tours.
The European Tour saw a 9-hole monster playoff at the 1989 Dutch Open, where a three-man playoff eventually whittled down to a victory for José María Olazábal. The Champions Tour (for players over 50) needed 10 holes to decide the 2018 Insperity Invitational, an incredible display of endurance by a trio of legends where Bernhard Langer, Mark O'Meara, and Scott Parel battled until Langer was the last man standing.
However, the unofficial distinction for the true marathon belongs to the lower tiers of the sport, where players are fighting for their careers. In a qualifying tournament for the 1966 Azalea Open Amateur B-Flight, two amateurs in North Carolina, Curtis Person Sr. and Wallace Acton, battled for an mind-boggling 36 holes of sudden death over two days before a winner was decided. While not a "professional" event with a big check, it stands as a testament to the sheer refusal to lose.
As a golf coach, watching a long playoff is fascinating. It ceases to be solely about hitting great golf shots and becomes a battle of wills. Any player at that level can hit the ball well enough to win. The one who lifts the trophy is often the one who can best manage the intense mental pressure.
In a playoff, you cannot think about the putt you missed five holes ago, or the fact that a million dollars is on the line. The only thing that matters is the shot right in front of you. Successful players narrow their focus to an almost microscopic level: pick the target, feel the club, make the swing. Then they reset and do it all over again. It's a structured routine that acts as an anchor in a sea of emotion.
Your body is going to be dumping adrenaline into your system. Your heart will be racing, and your hands might shake. Fighting it is pointless. Instead of trying to calm down, players who thrive accept the heightened state. They use that extra energy to focus even harder. Club selection might change - that extra adrenaline might mean a 9-iron now goes as far as an 8-iron normally does. Being aware of that is a huge advantage.
In sudden death, it feels like you have to end it now. This leads golfers to try to force miracle shots, when a simple par is often all that's required. The winning strategy in a long playoff is almost always patience. The player who can stay patient, hit the middle of the green, and apply pressure by consistently making pars, is usually the one who forces their opponent into the fatal mistake.
The record for the most playoff holes in golf showcases the incredible grit and determination at the heart of the sport. From Mangrum and Middlecoff’s unbreakable 11-hole tie to the modern 8-hole marathons, these events are remembered not just for the shots, but for the relentless will to compete.
While you may never find yourself in an 8-hole sudden-death battle, every golfer faces moments of pressure where calm, strategic thinking is required. We designed Caddie AI for exactly these situations. When you're standing over a a challenging shot and aren't sure of the right play, our app gives you instant, smart strategy based on your situation, removing the emotional guesswork so you can commit to your swing with confidence.
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