Why does the US Open have an 18 hole playoff the next day?

Question

Instead of a sudden death.

Answer 1

It's how they roll. Sudden Death is the worst. The Open ( British) does it the best. However for painful moments there is nothing better than watching the camera totally avoid the guy whose a** is getting kicked until the last hole.

Answer 2

It's the USGA standard that they have implemented.  They used to set the playoff up as a 36 hole Monday playoff, but later reduced it to 18.  While I agree that it is the most inconvenient because of schedules and television coverage, I believe it is the most fair because it provides room for a golfer to make a mistake and not be able to recover.  Sudden death can be lost on one bad swing.  A 3 or 4 hole playoff does not allow you time to recover from a bad swing or worse yet, just poor luck (see Payne Stewart's 1998 US Open loss when his ball rolled into a fairway divot and cost him the tourney).  It also sucks that many of the people that want to watch will be working, but that is why we have video recording devices.  I'm recording today and will watch when I get home - with the ability to skip commercials, I should be able to see it all in about 2 hours.

They may change the playoff format in the future, but don't count on it.

Answer 3

That is the way the USGA mandated the playoff and that is the way it will be until fairer minds decide that the British Open method  is best and should be implemented to eliminate an extra day of play for contestants, course workers,and golf fans.

Answer 4

It's the rules.  I prefer the Open Championship where you have a four hole playoff.  Given the status of the event I think a four hole playoff would be fair but the 18 hole playoff is too much.

Answer 5

As the others said, but I just want to add that I am very disappointed in how they do this. I will miss most of it due to work and I can't even get it online because I can't download the plug-in. Anyways, I would have liked the 4-hole playoff and just see this end yesterday.

Answer 6

Because the USGA mandates it.  It's horrible; the best thing to do is to have a 3 or 4 hole playoff (USPGA has a 3-hole, Open Championship has a 4-hole playoff); everyone gets a result on the Sunday, and all the volunteers, marshals, etc. don't have to come back for a Monday.

Answer 7

USGA rules. It's kinda cool though. Should be interesting. GO TIGER!