FILE PHOTO: Masashi Ozaki chips onto 3rd green during US Open golf Championship. June 15, 1989 REUTERS/Mike Blake 90045089 BALL FULL LENGTH GOLF JAPAN MAN NY ROCHESTER US OPEN; Ozaki, Masashi Masashi Ozaki DISCLAIMER: The image is presented in its original, uncropped, and untoned state. Due to the age and historical nature of the image, we recommend verifying all associated metadata, which was transferred from the index stored by the Bettmann Archives, and may be truncated./File Photo
Dec 24 (Reuters) - Masashi 'Jumbo' Ozaki, one of only two Japanese golfers to be inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame, died at 78 after a battle with colon cancer, the Japan Golf Tour Organization (JGTO) said on Wednesday.
Ozaki, whose 94 JGTO wins are the most of any player from Japan, was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2011, seven years after Isao Aoki became the first Japanese player to achieve the feat.
Ozaki started his career as a baseball player, before switching to professional golf and winning his first Japan PGA Championship at 26.
"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 played in over 80 PGA Tour events including the 1996 Presidents Cup, and he rose to fifth in the world rankings in 1996 at the age of 49.
Though he did not win a title in the United States, Ozaki achieved top-10 finishes three times - at the Masters (T8, 1973), U.S. Open (T6, 1989) and The Open Championship (T10, 1979).
Ozaki won the Japan Open five times and the Japan PGA Championship six times, with his last appearance on the tour being at the 2002 ANA Open when he was 55.
His younger brothers Naomichi (Joe) and Tateo (Jet) also enjoyed successful careers in Japan and played limited schedules in the U.S.
(Reporting by Karan Prashant Saxena in Bengaluru; Editing by Sonali Paul)
