(Getty)
There are few things in sports better than Monday golf to determine a major winner.
That’s especially true at the U.S. Open, where the playoff and tiebreaker rules are so unique.
In the event that two or more players are tied after 72 holes at Oakmont this week, they’ll play a full 18 holes on Monday. This is much different than the other majors, which use sudden death (PGA Championship, Masters) or a four-hole playoff system (Open Championship).
If there is still a tie after the fifth round, they’ll advance to a sudden-death format to determine the champion.
Although there hasn’t been a U.S. Open playoff since Tiger Woods topped Rocco Mediate on the 91st hole in 2008, Oakmont has a history of close finishes:
2007: Angel Cabrera defeats Jim Furyk and Tiger Woods by one stroke.
1994: Ernie Els defeats Loren Roberts and Colin Montgomorie in a playoff (Els and Roberts were tied after the fifth round and went to sudden death)
1983: Larry Nelson defeats Tom Watson by one stroke.
1973: Johnny Miller defeats John Schlee by one stroke.
1962: Jack Nicklaus defeats Arnold Palmer in a playoff.
1953: Ben Hogan defeats Sam Snead by six strokes.
1935: Sam Parks Jr. defeats Jimmy Thomson by two strokes.
1927: Tommy Armour defeats Harry Cooper in a playoff.