They just keep going. It was a welcome advance in regular season football, and partially hockey, when games stopped ending in ties. The great thing about sports is that it is a diversion from the real world. With the latter, most of us would be satisfied, even relieved, if marriages and business deals ended in ties. But that doesn't happen too often.
Sports provide an outlet from such a frustration.
With clear-cut rules and winners and losers, sports fulfills the human quest for closure that real life rarely provides. Lloyd Mangrum won a 3-way 36 hole playoff for the U.S. Open in '46. In the history of the U.S. Open, there have been few compelling playoffs. The more recent ones have been dull affairs. In 1994, Els and Loren Roberts tied after 18 holes with 74s, and Montgomerie had a horrendous 78.