Patrick Reed ed one of the rarest clubs during his first round at the 2025 U.S. Open.
Watch: Patrick Reed Makes An Albatross
🚨 ALBATROSS ALERT 🚨@PReedGolf with a 2 on a par 5, just the 4th in U.S. Open history! pic.twitter.com/FNDFzWwlzT
— U.S. Open (@usopengolf) June 12, 2025
The rarest shot in golf is not the hole-in-one. That title belongs to the albatross, also known as a double eagle.
The odds for the average golfer making a hole-in-one are about 12,500 to 1. Those odds are not even in the same ballpark as the albatross, which sits between 1 million and 6 million to 1 (via vessel golf).
In layman’s , the albatross is extremely difficult to achieve. Consider the U.S. Open conditions at Oakmont, and the odds of it happening increase.
Apparently, Patrick Reed did not get the memo about the difficulty of hitting this rare shot.
Reed was 286 yards out on the par-5 fourth hole at Oakmont. The 2018 Masters champion stepped up to the ball with a wood, hoping to knock it on the green and give himself a putt for an eagle.
Reed didn’t need his putter because his ball bounced on the green and rolled into the hole for a two.
Reed couldn’t see where his ball landed. Therefore, he had no idea the ball went in. Thankfully, someone let him know a few seconds later so he could celebrate.
Albatrosses Made At The U.S. Open
With the double eagle, Reed becomes the fourth player in U.S. Open history* to record an albatross.
T.C. Chen made the first albatross in U.S. Open history in 1985 at Oakland Hills. Chen had the lead through 54 holes but came up one stroke short of the champion, Andy North.
Shaun Micheel carded his albatross in 2010 at Pebble Beach. The 2003 PGA champion was tied for the lead after round one. Micheel finished the tournament tied for 22nd.
The other U.S. Open albatross belongs to Nick Watney, who did it in 2012 at Olympic. Watney finished tied for 21st.
*U.S. Open started keeping records in 1983.
