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 due to colorectal 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 win outside Japan came at the 1972 New Zealand PGA Championship.
Most Successful Golfer in JGTO History
Ozaki remains the most dominant figure in Japanese golf history. His 94 JGTO victories are 43 more than second-placed Isao Aoki, and he won the tour’s Order of Merit a record twelve 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 pivotal role in popularizing golf in Japan. Though his international victories 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 Golf 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—he was a promising baseball player who won a national high school championship and played professionally for three years before switching to golf at age 23. He claimed his first JGTO title in 1973 at age 26 and continued winning until age 55, capturing his final title nearly three decades later.
Leveraging his fame, Ozaki also launched a brief music career in the late 1980s, releasing three singles that charted in Japan.