There are sports legends in every country that seem to overwhelm reality. They make people stand up and take notice. Masashi “Jumbo” Ozaki is that kind of sportsman. Although golf has long been popular in Japan, it was Ozaki who brought new vitality to the sport, and his emergence led to unprecedented growth in Japanese golf. .
The second Japanese male to be inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame and Museum (Isao Aoki was the first), Ozaki is often thought of as being to Japanese golf what Arnold Palmer is to American golf. His success has spawned a whole generation of Japanese golf professionals, both men and women.
Born on January 24, 1947 in Tokushima, Ozaki was not only a star, but an icon in Japan and also one of those responsible for the success of the Japan Golf Tour Organization (JGTO). Every sport needs its heroes in order to grow and Ozaki was just what golf needed to become the premier sport in Japan.
He set an incredible record in his home country, with 94 JGTO victories. Among his most notable triumphs are six Japan PGA Championships and five Japan Open titles. He also led the Japanese Tour in terms of earnings, being number one in earnings 12 times, including five years in a row, from 1994 to 1998. For many, he was the Japanese Tour.
He took home his first title in 1973 and won at the JGTO as late as 2002 at the age of 55, three years older than the PGA Tour record set by Sam Snead when he was 52.
A great hitter, Ozaki won more than 110 tournaments in his career, but perhaps did not receive due recognition worldwide because he played most of his career in his homeland. Almost all of his victories came in Japan, although he did add one major title by winning the New Zealand PGA Championship.
Ozaki played successfully well beyond the retirement age of most players and was still ranked among the top 10 golfers in the world when he was well past the age of 50. He spent nearly 200 weeks ranked in the top 10 in the World Ranking.
Jumbo was not only a great golfer. He was also a youth baseball star in a country that adores the sport, and in fact Ozaki became the first professional baseball player. After a brilliant high school career that saw him lead his team to the national championship, he spent three years as a professional pitcher before switching, at age 23, to the sport that would establish him for life, golf.
With immense fame in Japan, Ozaki was not limited to success on the playing fields. In addition to his sporting achievements, he also triumphed in the world of song, and three of his songs reached the charts in Japan in the 1980s. He sang and played the guitar.
The multi-talented Jumbo is a proponent of colorful clothing and was always the main attraction at the JGTO, pulling in the crowds with his aggressive style of play and charisma.
Ozaki was not only a collector of victories. He is also a collector of classic cars and prestige wines, as well as musical instruments. He is a man who enjoys the finer things in life, luxuries he can afford having been the highest earning golfer in the history of the JGTO.
He didn’t play much outside Japan, but impressed in his Grand Slam appearances, placing in the top 10 several times at the U.S. Open, the British Open and the Masters.
When he ventured out of Japan to play, Ozaki used to rent a house and bring in a sushi chef to make him and his entourage feel at home away from their homeland.
Ozaki is part of an extraordinarily successful golf family. In fact, his younger brothers Naomichi (Joe) and Tateo (Jet) are among the top 20 highest-earning players in the history of the Japanese Tour. Joe Ozaki also played on the U.S. Champions Tour.
Now 64 years old, Ozaki still competes in his homeland.
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