Jumbo Ozaki, the winningest Japanese golfer in history, dies at 78

Masashi "Jumbo" Ozaki, whose 113 worldwide victories were the most of any player from Japan, died Wednesday in his home country after a battle with colon cancer, the Japan Golf Tour said. He was 78.

Ozaki was revered in Japan, a big hitter with a sense of style who won 94 times over 29 years on the Japan Golf Tour, the last one coming at the 2002 ANA Open when he was 55.

He rose to No. 5 in the world rankings in 1996 at age 49. Ozaki often got overlooked for never winning outside Japan except for the New Zealand PGA Championship. He was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2011.

"He is an indispensable, one-of-a-kind figure in discussing men's golf, both now and in the future," the tour said in a social media post.

Ozaki competed in 49 majors, his best finish coming in the 1989 U.S. Open at Oak Hill when he finished three shots behind Curtis Strange. He played the Masters for the 19th and final time in 2000 when he was 53 and tied for 28th.

Isao Aoki was the first Japanese player in the World Golf Hall of Fame, and Hideki Matsuyama became the first to win a major at the 2021 Masters. Both were inspired in some fashion by Ozaki, the pioneer in a nation now obsessed with golf.

Ozaki won the Japan Open five times and the Japan PGA Championship six times. He led the Japan Golf Tour money list a record 12 times, including five in a row from 1994 through 1998. He won his final money title in 2002, when he was 55.

When he was inducted into the Hall of Fame, Ozaki said his one regret was not playing more outside of Japan.

"But I dedicated my life to Japanese golf and am extremely grateful the voters thought I was worthy of this honour," he said upon his election. He received 50 per cent of the vote on the