Japanese golf icon Masashi ‘Jumbo’ Ozaki has died at age 78. He was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2011.
Masashi ‘Jumbo’ Ozaki passed away on Tuesday at the age of 78 after a battle with colon cancer. Ozaki holds the record for the most wins on the Japan Golf Tour Organization (JGTO) with 94 victories, including five Japan Opens and six Japan PGA Championships. He was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2011. His only win outside Japan came at the 1972 New Zealand PGA Championship.
Most Successful Golfer in JGTO History
No golfer in Japan has matched the dominance of Ozaki. With 94 career wins, he leads the next closest player, Isao Aoki, by 43 victories. 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. Though his international wins were limited, 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-kilogram frame and powerful drives, Ozaki thrilled Japanese fans with his all-or-nothing playing style and became a household name. His path to golf was unconventional—originally a promising baseball talent, 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 continued winning until age 55, claiming his final title nearly three decades later.
Ozaki also ventured into music in the late 1980s, releasing three singles that charted in Japan, further cementing his status as a cultural icon.