The 2025 PGA Championship is in the hands of Scottie Scheffler. With his late 5-under surge over the final five holes Saturday, he enters the final round with a three-stroke lead. The World No. 1’s game is in surgical-precision shape as he vies for his third career major title.
But a brief look at the history of PGA Championship playoffs shows that virtual locks don’t always come through on Sunday. In the event of a Scheffler scuffle, extra holes at Quail Hollow would mark the 15th playoff in the Championship's stroke-play era (since 1958). Here’s a look back at the previous 14.
1961 – Jerry Barber def. Don January (18-hole playoff)
Don January led going into the final round at Olympia Fields Country Club, holding a four-shot lead ahead of Barber with three holes to play but forced a playoff. In extras, Barber and January were tied through 16 holes before Barber hit a 3-iron from a fairway bunker to 18 feet and made par on the final hole, while January missed his par, giving Barber the win in Olympia Fields, Illinois.
1967 – Don January def. Don Massengale (18-hole playoff)
Six years later, Don January got his playoff revenge. He won the playoff against Don Massengale by two strokes. January took control in the playoff by shooting a solid 69 to Massengale’s 71, securing his only major championship. January is the only player in the stroke-play era of the PGA Championship to be in multiple playoffs.
1977 – Lanny Wadkins def. Gene Littler (Sudden-death playoff)
Gene Littler was the 54-hole leader at Pebble Beach, with Lanny Wadkins trailing by six shots. A 6-over 76 opened the door for Wadkins to match Littler with a 70, continuing the momentum as Wadkins won on the third sudden-death hole with a clutch 6-foot par putt. It’s the first sudden-death playoff in PGA Championship history.
1978 – John Mahaffey def. Tom Watson and Jerry Pate (Sudden-death playoff)
Tom Watson led by five over Jerry Pate after 54 holes at Oakmont Country Club. John Mahaffey was further adrift at seven back, yet a closing 66 caught Watson’s 1-over 73 to make it the first three-way playoff in PGA Championship stroke-play history. Mahaffey sank a 12-foot birdie putt on the second hole of sudden death to win his only major.
1979 – David Graham def. Ben Crenshaw (Sudden-death playoff)
Neither David Graham or Ben Crenshaw led going into the final round at Oakland Hills, as Rex Caldwell lost his four-shot lead after closing with an even-par 71. Caldwell’s Graham and Crenshaw ended regulation tied in Bloomfield Township, Mich., and Graham secured victory on the third playoff hole when Crenshaw missed a par putt. It’s the only time in PGA Championship’s stroke-play history to have three consecutive years with playoffs.
1993 – Paul Azinger def. Greg Norman (Sudden-death playoff)
Greg Norman held a one-shot lead going into Sunday at Inverness Club over Paul Azinger. Norman’s closing 69 in Toledo, Ohio, wasn’t enough to fend off Azinger. In extras, Norman missed a 4-foot par putt on the second hole, allowing Azinger to claim his only major.
1995 – Steve Elkington def. Colin Montgomerie (Sudden-death playoff)
Ernie Els held a three-shot 54-hole lead over Jeff Maggert at Riviera. Neither of them got into extras, as Steve Elkington and Colin Montgomerie broke away from Els with a clutch 64 and 65 respectively to vault to 17 under. Elkington won in Pacific Palisades, Calif., with a 20-foot birdie putt on the first hole of sudden death, capturing his only major title.
1996 – Mark Brooks def. Kenny Perry (Sudden-death playoff)
Brooks sat in T2 alongside Vijay Singh going into the last round at Valhalla Golf Club, trailing Russ Cochran by two. Perry bogeyed the par-5 18th to hold a one-stroke clubhouse lead over Brooks, who came through with a clutch birdie to put the Wanamaker up for grabs in a playoff. Brooks ended extras quickly. birdieing the first hole of sudden death to defeat Kenny Perry and win his only major championship.
2000 – Tiger Woods def. Bob May (3-hole aggregate playoff)
Tiger Woods led by a shot going into Sunday at Valhalla, with May tying Woods at 18-under for the tournament with a closing 66. In the playoff, Woods birdied the first hole and parred the next two to win by one stroke, completing his third consecutive major victory of the year and the third part of the Tiger Slam.
2004 – Vijay Singh def. Justin Leonard and Chris DiMarco (3-hole aggregate playoff)
Vijay Singh led by one over Justin Leonard at Whistling Straights and was five shots clear of Chris Dimarco. Despite a closing 4-over 76 to open the door for a playoff, Singh collected himself and birdied the first playoff hole. He held on to win his third major title.
2010 – Martin Kaymer def. Bubba Watson (3-hole aggregate playoff)
Watney led by four over Kaymer after 54 holes at 13-under. In a tournament that was up to him, Watney imploded at Whistling Straights with a 9-over 81 to tumble down the leaderboard. Laymer closed with a 2-under 70, but Bubba Watson entered the fold with a 4-under 68. In the playoff, Kaymer held steady while Watson double-bogeyed the final hole, handing Kaymer his first major.
In another one of golf’s many odd patterns, it’s the second consecutive set of PGA Championship playoffs that happened at the same course, with ’96 and ’00 happening at Valhalla, and ’04 and ’10 in Whistling Straights.
2011 – Keegan Bradley def. Jason Dufner (3-hole aggregate playoff)
Jason Dufner led at 5-under through after 54 holes at Atlanta Athletic Club. Keegan Bradley trailed by one at the start of play, but stumbled to be down four strokes with three holes to play after triple-bogeying the 15th hole. Bradley tied Dufner in two holes, going birdie-birdie on the 16th and 17th while Dufner bogeyed both to a playoff. Bradley continued his late momentum with a birdie on the first playoff hole and held on to win, making history as the first player in 91 years to win in his first-ever major appearance.
2022 – Justin Thomas def. Will Zalatoris (3-hole aggregate playoff)
Mito Pereira led by three after 54 holes, and faltered on Sunday with a closing 5-over 75. He missed out on a playoff by a stroke at Southern Hills, as Justin Thomas’s 3-under 67 overcame his seven-shot deficit entering the final round. Will Zalatoris closed with a 1-over 71 to match Thomas at 5-under for the championship. Thomas birdied two of the three playoff holes, while Zalatoris made pars, earning Thomas his second PGA Championship.
