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 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. His 94 wins are 43 more than the next closest player, Isao Aoki. He also claimed the Japan Golf Tour’s 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 wins were limited, he still delivered strong performances, finishing in the top 10 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 1.81m, 90kg frame and powerful drives, Ozaki thrilled Japanese crowds with his all-or-nothing playing style and became a household name in his home country.
His path to golf was unconventional. Initially 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.
Leveraging his fame, Ozaki even launched a music career in the late 1980s, releasing three singles that charted in Japan.