1949 Motor City Open – 11 Holes
The fabled joint winners of the Detroit Motor City Open, Lloyd Mangrum and Cary Middlecoff, played out 11 extra holes before settling on a shared title. They had shaken hands and called it a day, just as the sun had and darkness fell. Their epic play-off was a perfect harmony of matching pars, birdies, and bogeys.
At the second hole, Middlecoff shot a birdie first, then Mangrum followed. They both struck bogeys at the eighth and at the ninth, when they still matched for par, they acknowledged their exhaustion. They discussed with officials and agreed that two more holes would settle the game, or they’d share the win. Over 8,000 fans watched on expectantly as the tenth extra hole played out and it looked as if Mangrum could take the lead. But he missed his possible birdie. From his place in the rough, Middlecoff’s impressive shot ended up just by the cup, and both players won for par after 11 holes.
1976 Pepsi-Wilson Tournament – 14 Holes
The current record holder for the longest sudden death play-off on a major world tour in history goes to the four-way face off between Peter Thomson, Graham Marsh, Brian Jones, and Shozo Miyamoto. Five-time Open champion Thomson eventually came out on top after 14 holes! It had been raining, and the Japan Tour event was made into 54 holes. In the play-off, Miyamoto was the first to leave, with a bogey on the first hole. Australian Jones double-bogeyed on the fourth hole. It was Marsh and Thomson neck and neck for what remained. They parred every hole except the eighth, when both matched with a bogey. Thomson was able to par the 14th, whilst Marsh bogeyed and Thomson secured his win. The world record was set from then on, yet to be met or broken.
Parting Shot
Professional golf is certainly no walk in the park. It requires stamina, strength, and expert tactics. This is especially if you want to reach the skill level of any of the legends we’ve mentioned above. The glory of their wins were made even more incredible to witness and now look back on, precisely because they took as long as they did to achieve. Indeed, they were some of the greatest golf triumphs to date and a clear example of sturdy perseverance and sportsmanship.