When players find themselves tied after 54 or 72 holes, a tension-filled playoff becomes necessary to determine the ultimate winner. On the LPGA Tour, except for two Majors, the standard format is sudden death, often repeating the same hole until a player emerges as the outright winner. While it’s uncommon for a playoff to extend beyond a few holes, the following instances stand out in history as the longest.
10-Hole Playoff
Jo Ann Prentice emerged victorious over Sandra Palmer and Kathy Whitworth in this historic playoff at the Corpus Christi Civitan Open, Texas. The trio finished tied at 210 after the scheduled 54 holes.
Following Whitworth's elimination on the third playoff hole due to darkness, Palmer and Prentice resumed the next morning. After parring the 4th through nine holes, Prentice secured victory on the 10th sudden-death playoff hole with a four-foot birdie putt.
9-Hole Playoffs
Jiyai Shin prevailed over Paula Creamer in a 9-hole sudden-death playoff at the Kingsmill Championship, Virginia. Tied at 16-under 268 after 72 holes, the duo repeated the par-4 18th hole eight times before darkness suspended play. Resuming on the following morning, they played the par-4 16th, with Shin claiming victory as Creamer made a bogey.
Celine Boutier secured victory over Atthaya Thitikul after a thrilling playoff at the 2023 Maybank Championship. The playoff extended to the ninth extra hole, the par-3 15th, with both players having birdie putts. Thitikul missed, and Boutier capitalised, making the 6-foot putt to clinch the title.
IT WAS WORTH THE WAIT! @celineboutier's winning putt in the ninth playoff hole! 🏆 pic.twitter.com/ktThJNKJpCOctober 29, 2023
8-Hole Playoff
Pernilla Lindberg emerged triumphant over Inbee Park and Jennifer Song in the longest sudden-death playoff in LPGA Major championship history at the 2018 ANA Inspiration.
Tied at 15-under 273 after four rounds on the Dinah Shore Course in California, Song was eliminated on the 3rd hole. Darkness suspended play after tying on the 4th hole, and when play resumed the next morning, Lindberg secured victory on the eighth extra hole with a remarkable 30-foot birdie putt on the 10th hole at Mission Hills.
Worth another look! @pernillagolf drains this birdie putt to win @ANAinspiration.There's nothing left but that famous splash - coming up @GolfChannel pic.twitter.com/Itie6AZvHMApril 2, 2018
7-Hole Playoff
Cristie Kerr defeated Seol-An Jeon in a 7-hole playoff at the 2004 LPGA Takefuji Classic, Las Vegas. Tied at 7-under 209 after 54 regulation holes after Kerr rebounded from a four-stroke deficit, the playoff concluded on the seventh hole (par-4 16th) where Kerr secured victory with a three-foot par putt.
6-Hole Playoff
At the 2017 Volunteers of America Classic, Texas, Cristie Kerr and Haru Nomura finished tied at 3-under 281, then played the 518-yard par-5 18th six more times. There were five matching pars before Nomura's two-putt birdie clinched the title when Kerr's 12-foot birdie chance missed the hole.
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