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 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 of Japan came at the 1972 New Zealand PGA Championship.
JGTO’s Most Successful Golfer
No golfer in Japanese history has been as dominant as Ozaki. His 94 career wins are 43 more than second-place Isao Aoki, and he 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. While his international victories were limited, he still posted top-10 finishes at the 1973 Masters, the 1989 U.S. Open, and the 1979 Open Championship.
A Unique Life On and Off the Course
Nicknamed ‘Jumbo’ for his 1.81-meter, 90kg frame and powerful drives, Ozaki thrilled Japanese crowds with his all-or-nothing playing style and became a major public figure in his homeland.
His path to golf was also remarkable. Initially a promising baseball talent, Ozaki 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, when he claimed his final tour title.
Leveraging his fame, Ozaki even launched a music career in the late 1980s, releasing three singles that charted in Japan.