Daniel Berger makes 2 on par 5

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Saturday, March 21, 2015

ORLANDO, Fla. -- Daniel Berger holed out with a 4-iron from 237 yards on the par-5 sixth hole for the first albatross in Bay Hill history.

Berger's shot Saturday narrowly cleared the rocks that separate the green from the lake. It landed on the fringe and trickled into the cup for a 2. He raised his arms to celebrate. The Arnold Palmer Invitational has been at Bay Hill since 1979, and no one ever made a 2 on a par 5.

And Berger, who was the runner-up at the Honda Classic a few weeks ago, can lay claim to a most unusual boast from a PGA Tour professional.

"I have more albatross' than hole-in-ones," Berger told ESPN.com's Michael Collins after Saturday's round.

Measuring 555 yards on the scorecard, the hole horseshoes left around a lake.

"I was kind of right in between going for it and not going for it," said Berger, who shot 68 for the second straight day and is 7 under through 54 holes. "Little bit of a downhill lie. You know my caddie gave me the confidence to go for it.

"I hit just a big draw 4-iron and after I hit it -- I flushed it -- my caddie goes 'get up' and I was kind of thinking, 'Wow that (might) need to get up a little bit,' and it landed perfect. I didn't see it go in, but the way the crowd reacted, I figured it was either in or really close."

It was the first albatross on the PGA Tour since Trevor Immelman last year at the Travelers Championship.

And what about the golf ball?

"I just threw it to a little kid in the crowd," Berger told ESPN.com. "Maybe it made his day. He might not even know who I am, but that's fine."

Both of Berger's albatross' came in competition, the first occurring when he was "around 15" during an American Junior Golf Association tournament.

On Saturday, Berger completed a "cycle" on Bay Hill's par 5s as he made a par on the fourth hole, a birdie on No. 12, an eagle on No. 16 and the albatross on the sixth hole.

So what does it mean to the 21-year-old rookie from Plantation, Florida?

"I don't know what it means," Berger told ESPN.com. "I guess I gotta keep playing par 5s."

Coming off the playoff loss at the Honda Classic, Berger missed the cut last week in Tampa at the Valspar Championship.

Michael Collins of ESPN.com and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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