In golf, aggregate means total score.
An aggregate golf score can be expressed in one of two ways:
- total (cumulative) score (e.g. “70”)
- score in relation to par (e.g. “-2”)
For example, let’s say par for an 18-hole course is 72, and a player shoots 70. Their total score is 70, and their score in relation to par is two under par, typically written as -2.
For a standard four-day tournament on a par 72 course, most scores you see will be in relation to par format.
A score of E, or even par, would indicate that a player had a total score of 288.
Here is a chart of an example leaderboard at the end of a tournament:
| Pos | Player | Score to Par | Total Score |
| 1 | Joel Dahmen | -12 | 276 |
| 2 | Tiger Woods | -9 | 279 |
| 3 | Jon Rahm | -8 | 280 |
| 4 | Max Homa | -7 | 281 |
| 5 | Rory McIlroy | -5 | 283 |
Aggregate Playoff vs. Sudden Death Playoff
The term aggregate is most commonly used when referring to golf playoff formats.
In an aggregate playoff, the winner is decided by who has the lowest total score over a given number of holes, usually two or three.
In a sudden death playoff, the winner is decided by who wins the first hole. If any players are still tied after the first playoff hole, those players continue to play one hole at a time until one person wins a hole outright.
Playoff Formats in Majors
- The Masters: sudden death
- The US Open: two hole aggregate playoff
- The PGA Championship: three hole aggregate playoff
- The Open Championship: three hole aggregate playoff
Playoff Formats For Other PGA Tour Events
The Players also uses a three-hole aggregate format.
All other PGA Tour events use a sudden death playoff format.
How Aggregate Playoffs Work
All tournaments that use an aggregate format revert to sudden death if the players are still tied after the given number of holes.
For example, if two players are tied after 72 holes of the US Open, they will then play a two-hole aggregate match.
This means that they will play two holes, regardless of the score after hole one. Player A could score a 3, and Player B could score an 8, and they will still play the second hole.
In this example, if Player A scores an 8 on hole two and Player B scores a 3, the match would still be tied, the playoff will then become sudden death.
Sudden death means that the first player to score lower than the other player on a single hole wins the tournament.
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