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Masashi “Jumbo” Ozakiarguably the greatest Japanese golfer of all time, died Tuesday at age 78 after a battle with colon cancer.
Ozaki won 113 tournaments around the world, 94 of them on the Japan Golf Tour, becoming an inspiration for 2021 Masters Winner Hideki Matsuyama.
Ozaki became a regular at Augusta National Golf Club in 1972, but did not play there from 1980 to 1987.
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Jumbo Ozaki watches his shot from the finishing position during the Masters tournament at Augusta National Golf Club in April 1998 in Georgia. (Augusta National/Getty Images)
Of his 49 major championship appearances, 19 were at the Masters, and his best finish came in 1973 when he tied for eighth.
Ozaki also finished 10th in the tournament. 1979 Open Championship. and a tie for sixth at the 1989 US Open.
He rose to No. 5 in the world rankings in 1996 at the age of 49 and spent over 200 consecutive weeks in the top ten. Ozaki was often overlooked due to the fact that he never won outside of Japan, with the exception of the New Zealand PGA Championship. In 2011, he was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame.
Jumbo Ozaki hits the tee box in front of the grand gallery during the Masters at Augusta National Golf Club in April 1990. (Augusta National/Getty Images)
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“He is an indispensable and one-of-a-kind figure in the discussion of men's golf, both now and in the future,” the tour said in a social media post.
Ozaki won the Japan Open five times and the Japan PGA Championship six times. He topped the Japan Golf Tour money list a record 12 times, including five times in a row from 1994 to 1998. He won his last cash title in 2002, when he was 55 years old.
Jumbo Ozaki of Japan hits his shot in the first round of the PGA Championship at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Kentucky. (David Cannon/Allsport)
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Ozaki played in the 1996 Presidents Cup, teaming with Vijay Singh to defeat the American duo of Fred Parse and Davis Love III. He qualified for the 1998 team but declined the trip to Australia and his brother Joe played in his place.
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