There's always a chance, with all the wackiness that can occur on Augusta National's second nine, that the Masters Tournament goes to a playoff.
Should the 2019 version of the tournament be tied after 72 holes, here's what would go down.
2019 Masters Playoff Format, Rules
1. Sudden Death: Playoff format vary from tournament to tournament, but Masters opts for a quickest conclusion possible. Sudden death is the name of the game: The playoff is over once one of the participants beats his competitor(s) on a given hole.
2. The Holes Played: A Masters playoff starts on the 18th hole. If the playoff participants remain tied after that, they'll go to the 10th hole. They'll continue in that order — 18-10-18-10-etc — until a winner emerges.
Betting on the Masters Playoff
Most sportsbooks will repost live outright odds for the Masters leading into and throughout the playoff. This gives you an opportunity to hedge a pre-tournament bet and/or to jump into the action.
Pro-tip: Before you make a wager, check to see how the playoff participants have performed on holes 18 and 10.
Masters Playoff Facts
1. In total, 17 Masters Tournaments have gone to a playoff. (Full list of winners and participants year-by-year at the bottom of the article.)
2. The tournament has had three different playoff formats throughout the years:
- In 1935, Gene Sarazen and Craig Wood faced off in a 36-hole playoff. That's two full rounds! Sarazen prevailed by five strokes.
- Five Masters Tournaments were decided by an 18-hole playoff from 1942-70.
- The first version of a sudden death playoff occurred in 1979 between Tom Watson, Fuzzy Zoeller and Ed Sneed. (Fuzzy won.) There have been 11 sudden-death playoffs since 1979.
3. Nick Faldo is the only Masters champion to have multiple playoff wins. His first two Green Jackets (1989 and 1990) were captured in the sudden-death format.
Master Playoff History
1935: Gene Sarazen over Craig Wood*
1942: Byron Nelson over Ben Hogan**
1954: Sam Snead over Ben Hogan**
1962: Arnold Palmer over Gary Player and Dow Finsterwald**
1966: Jack Nicklaus over Tommy Jacobs and Gay Brewer**
1970: Billy Casper over Gene Littler**
1979: Fuzzy Zoeller over Ed Sneed and Tom Watson***
1982: Craig Stadler over Dan Pohl***
1987: Larry Mize over Seve Ballesteros and Greg Norman***
1989: Nick Faldo over Scott Hoch***
1990: Nick Faldo over Raymond Floyd***
2003: Mike Weir over Len Mattiace***
2005: Tiger Woods over Chris DiMarco***
2009: Angel Cabrera over Kenny Perry and Chad Campbell***
2012: Bubba Watson over Louis Oosthuizen***
2013: Adam Scott over Angel Cabrera***
2017: Sergio Garcia over Justin Rose***
* 36-hole format
** 18-hole format
*** Sudden death format
