The 2026 PGA Championship at Aronimink is shaping up to be a thrilling contest, with a congested leaderboard suggesting that extra holes may be required to determine the winner of the Wanamaker Trophy. Alex Smalley holds a narrow two-shot lead heading into the final round, but 29 players are within five strokes of his six-under-par total, ensuring that Sunday's play could produce a dramatic finish.
Playoff Format
Should two or more players be tied after the completion of 72 holes, the PGA Championship will proceed to a playoff. The current format, introduced in 2000, is a three-hole aggregate playoff. The holes used are the 10th, 17th, and 18th at Aronimink. The player with the lowest total score over these three holes wins the championship.
If the players remain tied after the three-hole aggregate, the playoff moves to sudden death, starting on the 18th hole. This hole is repeated until a winner emerges. The sudden-death format ensures that the contest is decided as quickly as possible while maintaining fairness.
Historical Playoffs
Since the adoption of the three-hole aggregate format in 2000, there have been five playoffs:
- 2000: Tiger Woods defeated Bob May
- 2004: Vijay Singh defeated Chris DiMarco and Justin Leonard
- 2010: Martin Kaymer defeated Bubba Watson
- 2011: Keegan Bradley defeated Jason Dufner
- 2022: Justin Thomas defeated Will Zalatoris
Prior to 2000, the PGA Championship used either an 18-hole playoff or sudden death. Eight such playoffs occurred:
- 1961: Jerry Barber defeated Don January (18-hole playoff)
- 1967: Don January defeated Don Massengale (18-hole playoff)
- 1977: Lanny Wadkins defeated Gene Littler (sudden death, third extra hole)
- 1978: John Mahaffey defeated Jerry Pate and Tom Watson (sudden death, second extra hole)
- 1979: David Graham defeated Ben Crenshaw (sudden death, third extra hole)
- 1987: Larry Nelson defeated Lanny Wadkins (sudden death, first extra hole)
- 1993: Paul Azinger defeated Greg Norman (sudden death, second extra hole)
- 1996: Mark Brooks defeated Kenny Perry (sudden death, first extra hole)
With a packed leaderboard and tough scoring conditions, the 2026 PGA Championship could well join this list of memorable playoffs. Fans will be watching closely to see if extra holes are needed to crown the champion at Aronimink.
