Nick Watney Double Eagle: American Sinks Third Albatross Ever At U.S. Open (VIDEO)

You don't dominate at the Olympic Club. Instead, you aim to not be dominated by it. Thanks in part to an especially treacherous first six holes and the frequent troubles of the game's top stars when they visit, the course in San Francisco has been dubbed the "graveyard of champions."

Apparently, nobody told Nick Watney. Because he just aced golf's toughest test. Well, actually, he didn't ace it. But Watney did card a double eagle, or "albatross" on the 17th hole.

The 31-year-old stepped up to his second shot on the par-5 17th and drilled a gorgeous strike from 190 yards out that landed safely on the green. The ball took a few bounces before rolling smoothly directly into the cup for only the third albatross in U.S. Open history. Watney jumped from a tie for 73rd to a tie to eighth.

"I can't really remember what I was feeling," Watney said. "It was kind of disbelief and joy, and it was really exciting."

Louis Oosthuizen hit on at the Masters. Now Watney hit one at the U.S. Open. "Albatross" is rapidly becoming a much more familiar term in 2012.

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story misstated the distance from the hole.