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Competition Manual for Disc Golf Events

1.09 Ties

Last updated: Thursday, March 7, 2024 - 12:16

  1. Between rounds when the groups are being reset, tied positions shall be broken. The player with the lowest score in the most recent round shall have the highest ranking when the positions are reset. In the event of ties for lowest score across all previous rounds, the ties shall be broken by the lower PDGA number having the higher ranking amongst the tied players and then alphabetical by last name for any tied players without a PDGA number.
  2. Except where noted below in 1.09.D, final ties for first place in any division must be broken by sudden-death play. If ties are being broken for the reduction of field size, they also must be broken by sudden-death play. Under no circumstances should any other method such as hot round, head-to-head scores, etc. be used to break a tie for first place.
    1. Sudden-death play is a format where the player or players with the lowest score on a hole move on to the next hole and all other players are eliminated. When only one player has the lowest score on a hole, that player has won the tiebreaker and sudden-death play is over. The Official Rules of Disc Golf and the Competition Manual apply during sudden-death play, but the throws do not accrue to the players' scores or break ties for any position other than first.
    2. An aggregate playoff is a type of sudden-death play where the competitors play a set of 6 or fewer holes that have been announced by the TD, where the lowest score on all holes wins the playoff. Players who are tied after an aggregate playoff proceed to standard sudden-death play on those same holes, unless a different set of holes has been announced by the TD.
    3. Sudden-death play, including aggregate playoffs, shall begin, wherever possible, on the same course and layout as the previous round on hole number one unless a different course, hole, or series of holes is designated by the Tournament Director prior to the start of the tournament.
    4. Sudden-death play must use the same format as the previous round (e.g., medal play as outlined in the Official Rules of Disc Golf, match play as outlined in Appendix A, or team play as outlined in Appendix B) unless another format is designated by the Tournament Director prior to the start of the tournament. In team play, each team is considered a player for the purposes of this section. Any sudden-death format that uses team play to break ties for an event conducted wholly as singles play, or that uses singles play to break ties for an event conducted wholly as team play, must do so for a compelling competitive reason and must be approved prior to the start of the event by the PDGA Director of Event Support.
    5. The specific order in which players tee off for sudden-death play shall be determined by random draw (e.g., numbered playing cards, selecting tee positions from a hat, etc.).
    6. In the case of a tied hole during sudden-death play, the teeing order for the next hole will rotate from the order used on the just completed hole, such that the player who teed first on the previous hole relative to the remaining players will now tee last, the player who teed second will now tee first, and so on.
    7. During an aggregate playoff, the teeing order will instead rotate in the manner described by 802.02, Order of Play.
    8. If the aggregate playoff ends with two or more players still tied, the teeing order will rotate:
      1. in the manner described by 802.02 to set the teeing order for the first hole of sudden-death play; and
      2. in the manner described by 1.09.B.6 for the remainder of sudden-death play.
    9. Players may decline to participate in sudden-death play. Their ranking and cash or prizes will be determined as if they had declined to participate in a semi-final or final among the tied players (see 1.08.D).
  3. First place cash or prizes must be awarded to the division winner and listed in the event results. Cash or prizes may not be evenly split between any players tied for first place except as noted in 1.09.D.
  4. Exceptions to the requirement for first place tiebreakers:
    1. A tie for first place at a flex start event where a tied competitor has already left the event.
    2. A tie for first place caused by the necessity of calling an event due to dangerous conditions where there is no time left on the regularly scheduled final day of competition to complete the event or break a tie for first place. Under no circumstances should players be expected, or asked, to return on a day following the last day of the regularly scheduled rounds to finish the event (see PDGA Mid-Event Suspension & Cancellation Policy).
    3. If a sudden-death playoff cannot be held during the last day of regularly scheduled rounds for the competition, the tie for first place will stand with the players declared co-champions and the cash and prizes for the ranked places split between the players. If two players are tied for first place, they split the first and second place cash or prizes).
  5. Final ties for other ranks shall be officially recorded as ties. Prize money distribution to tied players (other than for first place) shall be determined by adding the total money allocated to the number of positions represented by the tied players and dividing that by the number of players tied. Trophy distribution for ties may be determined by sudden-death play or by any related disc golf skill event determined by the Tournament Director, but only for the purpose of awarding trophies; the players must remain officially recorded as tied in the results.