Patrick Reed Makes History with Albatross at the US Open 2025
06/12/2025 by Laura Gailus
At the US Open 2025, Patrick Reed plays an albatross on the 4th hole, only the fourth in tournament history and the first ever at Oakmont.
Patrick Reed during the first round at the US Open 2025. (Photo: Getty)
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The 4th hole at Oakmont isn’t typically the scene of fireworks — unless your name is Patrick Reed. At the 2025 U.S. Open, the Texan reached for his fairway wood on the 621-yard par-5, unleashed a second shot from 286 yards, and found the bottom of the cup. Albatross.
The gallery erupted before Reed even knew what had happened — the shot was blind, the green out of sight. Only the roar of the crowd told him he’d just made a little piece of golf history.
ALBATROSS ALERT. 🚨
— Golf Channel (@GolfChannel) June 12, 2025
The rarest of birds for Patrick Reed on hole No. 4 at Oakmont!
📺 USA Network | #USOpenpic.twitter.com/7di3N2VaLF
US Open 2025: Albatrosses Are Rare – Especially at Oakmont
Oakmont Country Club is synonymous with punishment. It’s a course that doesn’t give — it takes. Sub-par rounds are minor miracles. And yet, amid the 2025 edition of the championship, one of the rarest shots in golf made its surprise appearance. Albatrosses — scoring three under par on a single hole — are golf’s equivalent of lightning strikes: incredibly rare, and nearly always unforgettable.
Reed’s shot marked only the fourth albatross in U.S. Open history. Before him, only T.C. Chen (1985), Shaun Micheel (2010), and Nick Watney (2012) had managed it. But none at Oakmont — the course that has hosted the U.S. Open more than any other in history.
By the time Reed reached the green, the ball had already vanished into the hole. It was a surreal moment: a searching player, a celebrating crowd, and the scoreboard confirming the impossible — a “2” on a par-5.
Turning Point in a Grinding Round
Before the 4th, Reed’s round had little spark. A bogey on the 2nd, a string of steady pars — then came the fireworks. The albatross catapulted him from +1 to -2 in a single stroke, an instant shift in momentum on a course where most players were struggling to break par. On average, Oakmont was playing more than five strokes over par, even under ideal conditions.
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