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260410 — AUGUSTA, April 10, 2026 — Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland reacts during the round 1 of the 2026 Masters golf tournament at Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, the United States, on April 9, 2026. SPU.S.-AUGUSTA-GOLF-2026 MASTERS-ROUND 1 WuxXiaoling PUBLICATIONxNOTxINxCHN
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260410 — AUGUSTA, April 10, 2026 — Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland reacts during the round 1 of the 2026 Masters golf tournament at Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, the United States, on April 9, 2026. SPU.S.-AUGUSTA-GOLF-2026 MASTERS-ROUND 1 WuxXiaoling PUBLICATIONxNOTxINxCHN
Every group has played at least 9 holes at Augusta National. And at this point, anyone can come out on top to claim the Green Jacket. Justin Rose took charge at the top of the leaderboard. Rory McIlroy and Cameron Young are closely chasing him. But what happens when first place is shared by multiple pros after 72 holes?
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Those tied for first place will then go on to play in the sudden-death playoff. And the playoff format for the 2026 Masters Tournament is quite unique.
According to Wales Online, the 73rd hole will be played on the Holly. And if a winner is still not determined, then the 74th hole will move to the par-4 Camellia. The group will continue to alternate between the 18th and the 10th until only one player stands tall. And he will be crowned the 2026 Masters Tournament champion.
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The tournament officials will also decide who tees off first, and so on. They will conduct a draw to ensure the picks are random and fair to everyone.
Interestingly, the Masters Tournament draws have never dragged on for too long. The most any playoff has taken to conclude is two holes. Hence, the tied players have never gone from the 18th to the 10th and back to the 18th again. So if things do go down to the wire, it would be interesting to see how long it will take for the tournament to conclude this time around.
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Ireland s Rory McIlroy during the day 2 of the 2026 Masters golf tournament at the Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia, United States, on April 10, 2026. Noxthirdxpartyxsales PUBLICATIONxNOTxINxJPN aflo_326531319
That said, let’s see what’s on the line for each of the players at the top of the leaderboard.
What every player has at stake in the Masters Tournament if they enter a three-way playoff?
Beginning with Justin Rose, he has probably the most to lose going into the final minutes of the 2026 Masters Tournament. If the major goes into the playoffs with Rose, then he might get a bit nervous in the situation. Out of the three times he has finished as a runner-up, he lost the Green Jacket in the playoffs twice. Once in 2017, to Sergio Garcia. Last year, he was beaten by Rory McIlroy in sudden death.
So he will be under a lot of pressure to be in the same situation again. However, the Englishman had been practicing with his putting coach to improve his performance on the green. It will be interesting to see if it will pay off and he is able to finally win the Masters Tournament.
Cameron Young missed the cut in the Masters Tournament last year. But in the two years prior to that, he had a couple of top-10 finishes. He will certainly finish in the top-10 again. But after finally winning a PGA Tour title last year, he would be eager to win his first major this season. Moreover, the last two Green Jacket winners had come off success at TPC Sawgrass. Young also won the PLAYERS Championship this year. So if he is in the playoffs, he will want to grab the title this time.
Lastly, McIlroy will be going into the playoff to grab consecutive Masters Tournament wins. He will become the first since Tiger Woods‘ 2001-2002 triumph to achieve the feat. Moreover, the Northern Irishman also had a 6-stroke lead against the field after 36-holes. That’s the biggest margin after two rounds in the history of the major. So he is expected to win after that.
