Japanese golf icon Masashi ‘Jumbo’ Ozaki has passed away at 78. He was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2011.
Masashi ‘Jumbo’ Ozaki died on Tuesday at the age of 78 after battling colon cancer. Ozaki holds a record 94 victories on the Japan Golf Tour Organization (JGTO), including five Japan Open titles and six Japan PGA Championships. He was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2011. His only win outside Japan came in 1972 at the New Zealand PGA Championship.
Most Successful Golfer in JGTO History
No golfer has dominated Japanese golf like Ozaki. With 94 tournament wins, he leads the all-time list by a wide margin—43 more than second-place Isao Aoki. He also claimed the JGTO Order of Merit a record 12 times. Thanks to his domestic success, Ozaki spent a total of 200 weeks in the top 10 of the Official World Golf Ranking and played a key role in popularizing golf in Japan. Though international victories were rare, he posted top-10 finishes at the 1973 Masters, 1989 U.S. Open, and 1979 Open Championship.
A Unique Life On and Off the Course
Nicknamed ‘Jumbo’ for his 1.81-meter, 90-kg frame and powerful drives, Ozaki thrilled Japanese crowds with his all-or-nothing playing style and became a household name in Japan. His path to golf was unconventional—originally a promising baseball player, he won a national high school championship and played professionally for three years before switching to golf at age 23. He won his first JGTO event in 1973 at age 26 and claimed his final title 29 years later at 55.
Ozaki also ventured into music in the late 1980s, releasing three singles that all charted in Japan, further cementing his celebrity status.