Masashi Ozaki 尾崎 将司 |
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Personal information | |
Nickname | Jumbo |
Born |
Kaifu District, Tokushima, Japan |
24 January 1947
Height | 1.81 m (5 ft 11 in) |
Weight | 90 kg (198 lb; 14 st 2 lb) |
Nationality | Japan |
Career | |
Turned professional | 1970 |
Current tour(s) | Japan Golf Tour |
Professional wins | 114 |
Number of wins by tour | |
Japan Golf Tour | 94 (1st all-time) |
Other | 20 |
Best results in major championships |
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Masters Tournament | T8: 1973 |
U.S. Open | T6: 1989 |
The Open Championship | T10: 1979 |
PGA Championship | T47: 1994 |
Achievements and awards | |
World Golf Hall of Fame | 2011 (member page) |
Japan Golf Tour leading money winner |
1973, 1974, 1977, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1992, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998 |
Masashi Ozaki (尾崎 将司 Ozaki Masashi, born (尾崎 正司) 24 January 1947) is a Japanese professional golfer. Ozaki is often known as Jumbo Ozaki (ジャンボ尾崎 Janbo Ozaki) on account of his height and length off the tee. He featured in the top ten of the Official World Golf Rankings for almost 200 weeks between 1989 and 1998. He is the most successful player of all time on the Japan Golf Tour, having led the money list a record 12 times and won 94 tournaments, more than 40 more than the second highest tally. Ozaki was elected to the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2010 and was inducted in May 2011.
Ozaki was born in Kaifu District, Tokushima. He was a professional baseball pitcher/outfielder from 1965 to 1967 with the Nishitetsu Lions, but he turned to professional golf at the age of 23 and won the Japan PGA Championship the following year.
Ozaki led the Japan Golf Tour in earnings in 1973–74, 1977, 1988–90, 1992, and 1994–98. Ozaki finished 8th at The Masters in 1973 and finished 6th at the U.S. Open in 1989. He competed at the Masters 19 times. He played occasionally on the PGA Tour from 1972 to 2000, in 96 tournaments, though never more than seven in one year. His best finish was a T-4 at the 1993 Memorial Tournament. Ozaki played on the International Team in the 1996 Presidents Cup. Ozaki built "AON Age" with his rivals Isao Aoki and Tsuneyuki "Tommy" Nakajima. Ozaki's brothers Tateo "Jet" and Naomichi "Joe" are also professional golfers. Now in his sixties, he still plays regularly on the Japan Golf Tour.