What's the Longest Sudden-Death Playoff in PGA Tour History?

Harris English and Kramer Hickock staged an incredible back and forth battle at the 2021 Travelers Championship, which required eight holes of a sudden-death playoff before English emerged as the champion at TPC River Highlands.

While that playoff was no doubt lengthy, where does it rank in terms of the longest in PGA Tour history?

For the sake of this conversation, the U.S. Open was not taken into consideration because it's not classified as "sudden death" until an entire 18-hole playoff has been completed. For instance, Tiger Woods defeated Rocco Mediate at Torrey Pines in a playoff at Torrey Pines. It took 19 holes – the 18 for the U.S. Open playoff and then one additional, sudden-death hole.

Here's a look at the longest playoffs in PGA Tour history.

The 1949 Motor City Open: Cary Middlecoff and Lloyd Mangrum -- both major champions and World Golf Hall of Famers -- finished regulation of the 1949 Motor City Open in Detroit knotted at 11-under 273.

That's right... the pair matched scores for 11 consecutive holes. Then, darkness set in and the playoff could no longer continue. At that point, the players and tournament officials decided to end the playoff and name Middlecoff and Mangrum "co-champions."

Interestingly, Mangrum would win the tournament the following year, while Middlecoff would win in 1952 and 1954 -- the next two times the tournament was contested.

There have been a total of six, eight-hole, sudden-death playoffs in PGA Tour history. The most recent came in the previously mentioned battle between Harris English and Kramer Hickok in the 2021 Travelers Championship at TPC River Highlands.

English bested Hickok with a birdie on the eighth hole after a very tight back and forth that saw both players having chances to win at different points.