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 from colon cancer. Ozaki won a record 94 tournaments 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 victory outside Japan came in 1972 at the New Zealand PGA Championship.
Most Successful Golfer in JGTO History
No golfer in Japanese history has been as dominant as Ozaki. With 94 career wins, he leads the JGTO by a wide margin—43 more than second-place Isao Aoki. He also captured the tour’s Order of Merit 12 times, another record. Thanks to his domestic success, Ozaki spent 200 weeks in the top 10 of the Official World Golf Ranking and played a key role in popularizing golf in Japan. While his international wins were limited, he still made his mark globally with top-10 finishes at the 1973 Masters, 1989 U.S. Open, and 1979 Open Championship.
A Unique Life On and Off the Golf Course
Nicknamed ‘Jumbo’ for his 1.81-meter, 90-kg frame and massive drives, Ozaki thrilled fans with his all-or-nothing playing style and became a household name in Japan. His path to golf was unconventional—he was first a promising baseball player, winning a national high school championship and playing professionally for three years. He switched to golf at age 23 and won his first JGTO event in 1973 at 26. His final tour victory came 29 years later at age 55.
Ozaki also ventured into music in the late 1980s, releasing three singles that charted in Japan, further cementing his status as a pop culture icon.