What is an albatross in gulf and what are the chances of making one?

Those familiar with golf know that the sport has its own unique vocabulary. You have Eagle, Birdie, Par, Bogey (or the dreaded Double, Triple, Quadruple, etc.), OB, Ace, Slice, Duck Hook, Draw, Fade, and so on and so forth. But perhaps the rarest term used in golf is albatross. And that certainly has a reason.
For those who don’t know, an albatross is when a golfer scores three strokes under par on a particular hole. Obviously, it’s impossible to make an albatross, also known as a double-headed eagle, on a par-3, so you can only occur on a par-4 (one-shot putt) or a par-5 (two-shot putt). shots).
What are the odds of making an albatross in golf?
And how rare is an albatross? Think about it. The odds of making a hole-in-one are about 12,500 to 1. And the odds drop to 3,000 to 1 for a PGA Tour player.
The odds on an albatross are about six million to 1. That means you have a better chance of being struck by lightning than putting in two holes on a par 5.
Named after a large, rare seabird, the term first appeared in the golf lexicon in 1929 but did not become widely used until decades later. The double-headed eagle is already used more frequently than the albatross. But whatever you prefer, both are correct.
Every albatross in the history of major championships

Since we’d be here for quite a while to go through all the albatrosses ever made on the PGA Tour, European Tour, LPGA Tour, or any of the other major tours around the world, we’ll just stick with those made in Major championships were made.
majors for men
You will note that the first on the men’s side was recorded as early as 1870 at The Open Championship. The funny thing is that the par 6 was still in play, meaning young Tom Morris was holed in three for his albatross.
player | Year | competition | course | Round | Hole | par/result |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Young Tom Morris | 1870 | The Open Championship | Prestwick | 1 | 1 | 6/3 |
Gene Saracen | 1935 | The master | Augusta National | 4 | 15 | 5/2 |
Bruce Devlin | 1967 | The master | Augusta National | 1 | 8th | 5/2 |
Johnny Miller | 1972 | The Open Championship | Muirfield | 2 | 5 | 5/2 |
Bill Rogers | 1983 | The Open Championship | Royal Birkdale | 1 | 17 | 5/2 |
TC Chen | 1985 | US Open | Oakland Hills | 1 | 2 | 5/2 |
Darrell Kestner | 1993 | PGA Championship | Inverness Club | 1 | 13 | 5/2 |
Jeff Maggert | 1994 | The master | Augusta National | 4 | 13 | 5/2 |
Per Ulrik Johansson | 1995 | PGA Championship | Riviera CC | 2 | 11 | 5/2 |
Manny Zerman | 2000 | The Open Championship | st andrews | 2 | 5 | 5/2 |
Jeff Maggert | 2001 | The Open Championship | Royal Lytham | 1 | 6 | 5/2 |
Gregory Owen | 2001 | The Open Championship | Royal Lytham | 3 | 11 | 5/2 |
Gary Evans | 2004 | The Open Championship | Royal Troon | 1 | 4 | 5/2 |
Joey Sindelar | 2006 | PGA Championship | Medinah CC | 3 | 5 | 5/2 |
Paul Lawrie | 2009 | The Open Championship | Turnberry | 4 | 7 | 5/2 |
ShaunMichael | 2010 | US Open | pebble beach | 4 | 6 | 5/2 |
Louis Osthuizen | 2012 | The master | Augusta National | 4 | 2 | 5/2 |
Nick Watney | 2012 | US Open | Olympic Club | 1 | 17 | 5/2 |
majors for women
Two women’s double eagles were recorded in tournaments that later became major championships. Sandra Post made one during the 1978 du Maurier Classic and Sophie Gustafson made one at the 1999 Women’s British Open. But as each Albatros was made when these tournaments were not officially majors, we cannot include them in the official list. Still, they deserved recognition.
player | Year | competition | course | Round | Hole | par/result |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Dawn Coe-Jones | 1993 | du Maurier Classic | London Hunting Club | 1 | 4 | 5/2 |
Asa Gottmo | 2002 | British Open Women | Turnberry | 4 | 7 | 5/2 |
Karen Supplies | 2004 | British Open Women | Sunningdale GC | 4 | 2 | 5/2 |
Vicky Lain | 2014 | British Open Women | Royal Birkdale | 2 | 17 | 5/2 |
And there you have it – every Albatross in the history of major championships.