TOKYO – Masashi Ozaki, the most successful Japanese professional golfer with 112 wins, including 94 on the Japan Golf Tour, died of sigmoid colon cancer on Tuesday. He was 78.
Standing 181 centimeters tall and weighing 90 kilograms, the Tokushima Prefecture native was nicknamed Jumbo Ozaki after the Boeing 747 “Jumbo Jet” launched soon after his professional debut in 1970 for his physique and dynamic playing style.
Ozaki switched to golf after steering Kainan High School to the national spring invitational championship in baseball in 1964 as their ace pitcher before playing professionally for three years with the Nishitetsu Lions.
Winning 25 titles in his first four years, starting with the Japan PGA Championship in 1971, Ozaki became the first Japanese golfer to make the top 10 on foreign soil when he came eighth at the Masters Tournament in 1973.
He had a slump in his mid-30s with most of the courses in Japan not suited to big hitters off the tees like Ozaki but got his career back on track in his 40s, becoming the money leader a record 12 times with nine of them over an 11-year period from 1988.
Ozaki, who with Isao Aoki and Tsuneyuki Nakajima ushered in what was dubbed the “AON” era, came fourth at the 1993 Memorial Tournament for his best finish on the U.S. PGA Tour, in which he competed between 1972 and 2000.
Adamant in not joining the senior tour, Ozaki became the domestic tour’s oldest winner at 55 years and seven months when he won the ANA Open in 2002.
Ozaki, who was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2011, was the first to record a score at or under his age when he carded a 62 aged 66 in 2013 on a regular tour.
He was also known for nurturing young talents in his later years, counting two-time U.S. Women’s Open Championship winner Yuka Saso as well as Erika Hara and Shuri Sakuma — this year’s LPGA of Japan Tour winner — among his proteges.
Ozaki underwent civil rehabilitation proceedings in 2005 after his debts swelled dure to joint liability on guarantees.
Known for his humor, Ozaki had his two younger brothers, Tateo and Naomichi, who also become pro golfers.
AloJapan.com