Super-sized: Revisiting the PGA Tour’s 14 playoff this past season

There were 14 sudden-death playoffs in the 2020-21 PGA Tour super season, four shy of a record 18 set in 2011.

But this season, the extra sessions were extra crowded at times and one even needed an extra day. There were also four straight playoffs in the final few weeks of the season.

Here’s a look back at all of them and relieve some of the best.

Oct. 11, 2020: Shriners Hospitals for Children Open

On a sponsors exemption, Matthew Laird, who was ranked No. 358, got his first win in seven years, besting Austin Cook and Matthew Wolff with a 23-foot birdie on the second playoff hole.

Nov. 1, 2020: Bermuda Championship

Brian Gay, 48, erased a three-shot deficit on the back-nine after missing nine of his last 11 cuts to beat Wyndham Clark. 

Nov. 22, 2020: The RSM Classic 

Robert Streb beat Kevin Kisner on the second playoff hole for his second Tour win, which also came in a playoff at Sea Island in 2015. 

Jan. 10, 2021: Sentry Tournament of Champions

The first Tour event of the calendar year is usually a winners-only format, but with COVID-19 suspending the previous season’s schedule, the field was expanded to everyone who made the 2020 Tour Championship, gifting a Harris English-Joaquin Niemann playoff, where English ended a seven-year winless drought. 

Feb. 21, 2021: The Genesis Invitational 

Max Homa was in tears after he beat Tony Finau on the second playoff hole to win his hometown event, which Homa has attended every year since he was 2, and received the trophy from one of his heroes, Tiger Woods, two days before Woods’ car crash. 

April 25, 2021: Zurich Classic 

Australia’s Team Mullet – Marc Leishman and Cameron Smith – beat South Africans Louis Oosthuizen and Charl Schwartzel at TPC Louisiana.

June 6, 2021: Memorial Tournament 

Patrick Cantlay defeated Collin Morikawa on the 73rd hole, but Cantlay’s second win of the season was overshadowed by Jon Rahm, who tested positive for COVID-19 and had to WD with a six-shot lead after 54 holes.

BY Max Schreiber

 — June 27, 2021 at 9:11 PM

Harris English beat Kramer Hickok in an eight-hole playoff Sunday at the Travelers Championship at TPC River Highlands.

June 27, 2021: Travelers Championship

After Bubba Watson “threw up on himself” on the back-nine, his final day playing competitor, Kramer Hickok, birdied No. 18, getting himself into a playoff with Harris English that would last eight-holes, tying the second-longest ever in Tour history (the longest is 11 holes, 1949 Motor City Open). 

Hickok was envisioning his own Travelers walk-off win like his college roommate, Jordan Spieth, had in 2017, and that moment almost came on the 74th hole, where the 29-year old’s 43-foot putt lipped out to everyone’s disbelief. Hickok and English exchanged pars for roughly another 90 minutes until English made birdie the eighth time around with darkness looming in Cromwell. 

July 4, 2021: Rocket Mortgage Classic

A week after the eight-hole drama in Connecticut, history almost repeated itself in Detroit, this time with Cam Davis, Troy Merritt and Joaquin Niemann going five-holes. Davis’ eagle-birdie finish in regulation added him to the playoff mix and he was the last man standing for the Aussie’s first Tour win. 

July 18, 2021: Barbasol Championship

Several hours after The Open’s finale, J.T. Poston’s tee shot on No. 15 fell out of bounds by inches, resulting in a double bogey that would drop him into a six-hole playoff with Seamus Power and the Irishman would get his first Tour win.

Aug. 8, 2021: WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational 

Abraham Ancer, Hideki Matsuyama and Sam Burns provided free golf in Memphis and on the first extra hole, Matsuyama’s 20-foot birdie putt for the win lipped out. On the second playoff hole, Ancer made a 6-footer for birdie while Burns missed his slightly shorter attempt. It was Ancer’s first PGA Tour win.

Aug. 15, 2021: Wyndham Championship 

A six-player playoff of Kevin Kisner, Adam Scott, Roger Sloan, Kevin Na, Si Woo Kim and Branden Grace – tying the largest Tour playoff ever – was needed to determine the winner of the regular-season finale. 

On the first playoff hole, Scott missed a 4′ 3″ putt for his first win since February 2020. So everyone headed back to the tee box for a second time and Kevin Kisner came out victorious, removing the donut from his previous 0-5 career playoff record. 

Aug. 22, 2021: The Northern Trust 

Hurricane Henri forced a Monday finish in Jersey City that ended with a Cam Smith-Tony Finau tie after 72 holes. Smith’s tee shot on the first playoff hole sliced into the Hudson River and Finau got his first win in 142 tournaments. 

BY Doug Ferguson

 — August 29, 2021 at 7:26 PM

Patrick Cantlay made every putt he needed to in order to survive. Bryson DeChambeau missed everyone he needed to in order to win.

Aug. 29, 2021: BMW Championship 

In the turbulent drama-filled season of Bryson DeChambeau, he was close to silencing his critics with a chance for a 59 on Friday, but missed a 6-footer on the No. 18 and settled for a 60. 

DeChambeau eventually entered into a playoff with Cantlay, and Bryson had chance after chance to win in Baltimore, starting the first three playoff holes missing birdie putts from 18 feet, 6 feet and then an 18-footer that lipped out. He didn’t get the job done in another three playoff holes and Cantlay remained “Patty Ice” with his putter, draining a 17-footer to win on the sixth playoff hole after DeChambeau missed an 8-footer.