US Women's Open Playoff Format

The second women’s Major of the year takes place at Lancaster Country Club in Pennsylvania. The US Women’s Open is arguably the highest profile of all five Majors, and unsurprisingly, the great and the good of the game will be participating. 

Considering the strength of the field, which will include defending champion Allisen Corpuz and World No.1 Nelly Korda, a tight affair is expected as players try to lift the trophy and win the biggest slice of the record $12m prize money payout.

Because of that, it’s relatively likely that a playoff will be needed to decide the winner. So, how will the outcome of the tournament be determined if two or more players share the lead after 72 holes?

US Women’s Open Playoff Format

In the past, an 18-hole playoff was held to determine the winner, but the last time that format was used was in 2006, when Annika Sorenstam eventually beat Pat Hurst by four shots. For over a decade, three-hole aggregate playoffs were introduced, before a two-hole aggregate playoff format began being used in 2018, which is still the case.

That means that, if two or more players need extra holes, they will playoff over two holes, with a leader then declared the winner. If players still need separating, they will continue over the same two holes until there’s a winner.

When Was The Last US Women’s Open Playoff?

The tournament has been decided by a playoff 10 times in its history, and the most recent came only three years ago, when Yuka Saso overcame the challenge of Nasa Hataoka on the third extra hole at San Francisco’s Olympic Club.