Much has been made of the difficulty of US Open venue Oakmont, and sure enough, many players found themselves heading back to the clubhouse over par following the morning wave of the opening round.
One player getting his challenge underway later was Patrick Reed, and he was one over after his opening three holes, five behind early leader JJ Spaun, who completed a remarkable bogey-free round of 66 earlier in the day.
In other words, nothing to be too concerned about with plenty of golf left to play. However, while he will have likely been relatively satisfied with a steady enough start, nothing could prepare anyone for what was about to happen on the fourth – a 621-yard par-5 monster.
The LIV Golfer sent his tee shot 332 yds to the left fairway beside the famous church pew bunker, but that still left him almost 290 yards to the hole. A birdie opportunity with a solid approach, perhaps? Maybe at his most optimistic, an eagle? Instead, it was to get even better than that, with his perfect shot landing on the front of the green before curving towards the pin and ultimately into the cup for an incredible albatross.
Watch: Patrick Reed albatross
🚨 ALBATROSS ALERT 🚨@PReedGolf with a 2 on a par 5, just the 4th in U.S. Open history! pic.twitter.com/FNDFzWwlzTJune 12, 2025
Not surprisingly, and possibly because he had yet to process what he had just witnessed, Reed’s reaction was decidedly low-key, apparently unsure his ball had found the hole before he finally got a sign that it had, when a broad grin spread across his face.
To put the achievement into context, it is just the fourth time a player has made an albatross at the US Open, which is celebrating its 125th edition this year.
The first was achieved by Chen Tze-chung in 1985 during the opening round at Oakland Hills, with Shaun Micheel matching the feat at Pebble Beach during the final round of the 2010 Major. Two years later, Nick Watney made an albatross in the opening round of the US Open at the Olympic Club.
While extremely rare, it’s not the first albatross this year, with one of the others coming from Richard Bland at LIV Golf Mexico City, but while that was noteworthy, Reed’s achievement, coming in one of the biggest tournaments in the game and at a legendary venue, is undoubtedly on another level.
Whatever happens between now and the end of the tournament, Reed will always have that special moment to look back on. Of more immediate concern, it’s catapulted him to two-under and temporarily in a tie for fourth.
