Japanese golf great ‘Jumbo’ Ozaki dies aged 78

Masashi ‘Jumbo ‘ Ozaki, Japan’s most successful professional golfer, passed away at the age of 78.

Ozaki won 94 of the nation’s top 12 victories on the Japan Tour and topped the nation’s order of merit, earning the nickname Jumbo for his length off the tee.

He was inducted into the 2011 World Golf Hall of Fame after nearly 200 weeks in the top 10 of golf’s rankings.

Ozaki, according to his profile on the World Golf Hall of Fame website, “was the person who gave the game a new life to the game and his emergence spawned an unprecedented growth in the game in Japan.”

Before turning to golf, Ozaki won his first championship match at the age of 26 and his final appearance at age 55.

He and his entourage used to travel to Japan with a sushi chef when they used to play there so they could feel more at home away from their home countries and received top 10 finishes at The Open, Masters, and US Open.

In the late 1980s, Ozaki also made a comeback by singing, recording three singles on Japanese charts.

Tomoharu, Ozaki’s son, was reported to have been informed that his father had passed away after being diagnosed with colon cancer about a year ago in a statement posted on the website of the Japan Golf Tour Organization (JGTO).

Yutaka Morohoshi, the chairman of JGTO, said, “The golf world has lost a truly great man.”