PGA TOUR alters order-of-play protocol for playoffs

No longer will PGA TOUR players dip hands into a Rules official's upside-down hat to determine the order of play in extra holes. Instead, the TOUR will go to a first-to-finish, first-to-play format for playoffs. Players in the same group will play off in the same order in which they finished regulation play within their group. The TOUR Rules Committee's decision was made after a Player Advisory Council meeting at The Genesis Invitational last week and will go into effect immediately. Immediacy, in fact, was one of the driving factors for the change, which is expected to expedite the playoff process and tip broadcast partners ahead of time as to the order of play. The full e-mail is below: With support from the PAC during last week's meeting, the PGA TOUR Rules Committee is making a change to the "order of play" protocol used during tournament playoffs. Rather than deciding the order of play "by draw" as has been done in the past, beginning this week we will now use a procedure based on order of finish in the final round. The order of play within the playoff group will be done on a “first-to-finish, first-to-play” method. For players tied in the same final round group, order of play within the final round groupings will be used. Simplifying this procedure allows us to expedite the process to start the playoff and also allows our broadcast partners to know the order of play in advance.

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