Playoff Results in the U.S. Senior Open

The U.S. Senior Open, the biggest tournament in men's 50-and-over professional golf, was first played in 1980. Since that time, six tournaments have ended with a playoff.

The first four of those U.S. Senior Open playoffs were 18 holes. The USGA eventually did away with 18-hole playoffs, however, and switched first to a four-hole, then a three-hole, aggregate-score playoff format. The most-recent playoffs, then, use the aggregate-score format.

These are the six times the U.S. Senior Open ended with a playoff, the participants in each of those playoffs, and the scores:

• 1981: Arnold Palmer def. Bob Stone and Billy Casper. The first playoff happened in the tournament's second year, and it was an 18-holer. Palmer won his only title in this tournament by scoring 70 to Stone's 74 and Casper's 77. When the tournament debuted one year earlier, the USGA set a minimum age of 55. But they lowered that to 50 in 1981, which allowed Palmer into the field. Probably not a coincidence!

• 1983: Billy Casper def. Rod Funseth. Casper was a loser in the tournament's first playoff but a winner in the second one. Casper and Funseth both shot 75s. Still tied after 18 holes, they continued into sudden-death holes. And Casper won with a 3 to Funseth's 4 on the first additional hole.

• 1988: Gary Player def. Bob Charles. Player was the second member of "the Big 3" to win the U.S. Senior Open in a playoff, joining Palmer. In the 18-holer, Player shot 68 to Charles' 70. It was Player's second year in a row winning this tournament.

• 1991: Jack Nicklaus def. Chi Chi Rodriguez. And Nicklaus completed "the Big 3" troika of playoff wins in 1991. This was the last of the tournament's 18-hole playoffs. Nicklaus beat Rodriguez by four, 65 to 69.

• 2002: Don Pooley def. Tom Watson. The format for this one was four-hole aggregate. After playing those four holes, Pooley and Watson were still tied. So they continued into sudden-death holes, and on the first one Pooley won with a 3 to Watson's 4.

• 2014: Colin Montgomerie def. Gene Sauers. The U.S. Senior Open used a three-hole aggregate format this time. Montgomerie won with scores of 5, 3 and 4, a total of 12 strokes. Sauers picked up on the final hole after opening 5-4.

Today, the U.S. Senior Open playoff format is two-hole aggregate score, and if still tied the players would continue into sudden-death holes. This format has not yet been used, however.

Related articles:

• 18-hole scoring record in U.S. Senior Open
• Results of all U.S. Open playoffs
• Results of all of Arnold Palmer's playoffs

Sources:
USGA. U.S. Senior Open Championship 44th Record Book, 2024.
USGA.org. U.S. Senior Open, Fast Facts, https://championships.usga.org/ussenioropen/2024/articles/2024-us-senior-open-fast-facts.html.