Japanese golf icon Masashi ‘Jumbo’ Ozaki has died at 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 due to 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 at the 1972 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 all-time list by 43 victories over second-place Isao Aoki. He also claimed the tour’s Order of Merit twelve times, another record. His domestic success propelled him into the global spotlight, spending 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 booming drives, Ozaki thrilled Japanese fans with his all-or-nothing playing style and became a household name. His path to golf was unconventional—he was initially 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. He 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 all charted in Japan, further cementing his status as a cultural icon.