Oakmont (United States) (AFP) – Patrick Reed, the 2018 Masters champion, made only the fourth albatross in US Open history in Thursday’s first round at Oakmont, holing out from the fourth fairway from 286 yards. The 34-year-old American, who plays in the Saudi Arabia-backed LIV Golf League, fired his tee shot at the par-five fourth hole some 332 yards to the left side of the fairway, avoiding the Church Pew bunkers just beyond.
Reed then blasted his second shot onto the green and into the hole for the first albatross in a major since Nick Watney made one in the first round of the 2012 US Open on the 17th hole at Olympic Club. The fantastic shot took Reed from one-over par to two-under par and a share of fifth.
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The other two times an albatross was made in US Open history were by Taiwan’s T.C. Chen on the second hole of the first round of the 1985 event at Oakland Hills and by American Shaun Micheel in the final round of the 2010 US Open at Pebble Beach on the sixth hole. Reed, whose best US Open finish was fourth in 2018, was a nine-time winner on the PGA Tour. His most recent victory was last November at the Hong Kong Open.
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