He is the golfer who never won a major title but is the only player ever to make two albatrosses in them

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While the large majority of golf fans will have never seen Gene Sarazen hit a shot, plenty will have heard about the albatross he made on the 15th hole in the final round at Augusta National on his way to winning the 1935 Masters in a moment which became known as the “shot heard ’round the world”.

Making a two on a par five can change a tournament for a player. Sarazen began the final day of the 1935 Masters three shots back of the lead, but his albatross on 15 helped earn him a spot in a playoff for the following day. He would go on to win by five.

That is arguably the most iconic albatross golf has ever seen.

But it is another player who is the only person ever to make two albatrosses in the major championships – and he is someone who never actually won any of the sport’s four biggest events.

The only player to make two albatrosses in the major championships

The 2001 Open Championship is significant for being the only major win of David Duval’s career. But it also saw a piece of golfing history made during the first round at Royal Lytham and St Annes.

On the sixth hole, Jeff Maggert found the bottom of the cup with his 212 yard second shot into the par five. Remarkably, he would go on to miss the cut that week after posting rounds of 72 and 76.

Seven years earlier at The Masters, Maggert had also made a two on the 13th hole at Augusta National. Bizarrely, that did not do him many favours either, as the American ended the week in a tie for 50th.

The PGA Tour career of Jeff Maggert

Maggert was one of those players who clearly had an enormous amount of talent. He registered eight top five finishes in the majors without ever actually winning one. He did lead going into the final round of the 2003 Masters before falling away on Sunday.

Meanwhile, he played on three Ryder Cup teams. He collected two points from each of his Ryder Cup appearances. Alongside Hal Sutton, he helped the US to their only full point of the opening day at Brookline in 1999.

The biggest win of Maggert’s career came the same year as he clinched the WGC-Andersen Consulting Match Play, with a 2&1 victory over Tiger Woods to make the semi-finals.

Two senior major titles came in 2015. But it is his two albatrosses in the majors which currently gives Maggert a unique place in golfing folklore.