Isao Aoki facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Isao Aoki青木 功 |
|
|---|---|
| Personal information | |
| Born | 31 August 1942 Abiko, Chiba, Japan |
| Height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) |
| Weight | 180 lb (82 kg) |
| Nationality |  Japan |
| Career | |
| Turned professional | 1964 |
| Former tour(s) | PGA Tour Japan Golf Tour Champions Tour |
| Professional wins | 80 |
| Number of wins by tour | |
| PGA Tour | 1 |
| European Tour | 1 |
| Japan Golf Tour | 51 (2nd all-time) |
| PGA Tour of Australasia | 1 |
| Champions Tour | 9 |
| Other | 17 |
| Best results in Major Championships |
|
| The Masters Tournament | T16: 1985 |
| U.S. Open | 2nd: 1980 |
| The Open Championship | T7: 1978, 1979, 1988 |
| PGA Championship | T4: 1981 |
| Achievements and awards | |
| World Golf Hall of Fame | 2004 |
| PGA of Japan Tour money list winner |
1976, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981 |
Isao Aoki (青木 功, Aoki Isao, born 31 August 1942) is a famous Japanese professional golfer. He was honored by being chosen for the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2004. This means he is recognized as one of the best golfers ever!
Contents
Isao Aoki's Golf Journey
Early Life and Becoming a Pro
Isao Aoki was born in Abiko, Chiba, Japan, on August 31, 1942. His golf journey began when he was just a schoolboy. He worked as a caddy at the Abiko Golf Club. A caddy is someone who carries a golfer's clubs and helps them on the course. This is how he first learned about golf.
He became a professional golfer in 1964. This means he started playing golf for money, not just for fun.
Success in Japan
Aoki became a huge star on the Japan Golf Tour. He won more than 50 tournaments between 1972 and 1990! Only one other golfer, Masashi "Jumbo" Ozaki, has won more events on this tour.
He was also the top earner on the Japan Golf Tour five times in six years. These years were 1976, 1978, 1979, 1980, and 1981. His total earnings from golf were about 980 million Japanese yen.
Making History on the PGA Tour
In 1983, Isao Aoki made history. He won the Hawaiian Open on the PGA Tour in the United States. He was the very first Japanese and Asian player to win a tournament on this major tour! This was a huge moment for golf.
He also won the Panasonic European Open in Europe in 1983. In 1978, he won the important HSBC World Match Play Championship in England. He also won a tournament in Australia.
A Famous Round of Golf
Aoki is one of only nine golfers in the history of The Open Championship to shoot a score of just 63 strokes in one round. He did this in 1980. This was the best score ever in the tournament at that time. Even with this amazing round, he finished tied for 12th place that year.
Playing Against the Best
Aoki played in 165 PGA Tour events between 1974 and 1999. His best finish in a major championship was second place at the 1980 U.S. Open. He finished just two strokes behind the legendary golfer Jack Nicklaus.
Because of his great play, Aoki was ranked third in the world in 1980 and 1981. Later, when official world rankings started in 1986, he was in the top 10 for several weeks in 1987.
In 1984, he traveled to South Africa to play in the Million Dollar Challenge. He went even though the Japanese government tried to stop him.
Senior Golf Career
As he got older, Aoki continued to play golf on the Champions Tour in the United States. This tour is for senior golfers (usually 50 and older). He won nine times on this tour between 1992 and 2003.
He also won eight senior tournaments outside the U.S. This includes five wins at the Japan Senior Open. In 2007, he even shot a score of 65, which was his age at the time!
Isao Aoki's Major Wins
Isao Aoki has won 80 professional golf tournaments in his career. Here are some of his most important wins:
PGA Tour Wins (1)
| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | Margin of victory |
Runner-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 13 Feb 1983 | Hawaiian Open | −20 (66-70-65-67=268) | 1 stroke |  Jack Renner |
European Tour Wins (1)
| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | Margin of victory |
Runners-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 Sep 1983 | Panasonic European Open | −6 (65-70-70-69=274) | 2 strokes |  Seve Ballesteros,  Nick Faldo, Carl Mason |
PGA Tour of Australia Wins (1)
| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | Margin of victory |
Runners-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 22 Jan 1989 | Coca-Cola Classic | −9 (69-73-66-71=279) | 1 stroke |  Rodger Davis, Peter Fowler, Tsuneyuki Nakajima, Peter O'Malley |
Other Important Wins (8)
- 1971 Kanto Pro Championship (Japan)
- 1972 Kanto Pro Championship (Japan)
- 1973 Gold Beck
- 1977 Jun Classic
- 1978 Colgate World Match Play Championship (England)
- 1982 Old Sones Invitational, Daikyo Open
- 1987 Fred Meyer Challenge (with Payne Stewart)
Senior PGA Tour Wins (9)
| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | Margin of victory |
Runner(s)-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 27 Sep 1992 | Nationwide Championship | −8 (70-66=136)* | 1 stroke | Raymond Floyd |
| 2 | 18 Sep 1994 | Bank One Senior Classic | −14 (69-64-69=202) | 3 strokes | Chi-Chi Rodríguez |
| 3 | 25 Sep 1994 | Brickyard Crossing Championship | −11 (66-67=133)* | 1 stroke | Jimmy Powell, Tom Wargo |
| 4 | 27 Aug 1995 | Bank of Boston Senior Classic | −12 (69-66-69=204) | 1 stroke |  Bob Charles, Hale Irwin |
| 5 | 26 May 1996 | BellSouth Senior Classic | −14 (64-68-70=202) | 1 stroke | Graham Marsh, Jay Sigel |
| 6 | 30 Jun 1996 | Kroger Senior Classic | −15 (63-69-66=198) | 1 stroke | Mike Hill, Rocky Thompson |
| 7 | 28 Sep 1997 | Emerald Coast Classic | −14 (71-60-65=196) | Playoff | Gil Morgan |
| 8 | 14 Jun 1998 | BellSouth Senior Classic (2) | −18 (62-66-70=198) | 2 strokes | Larry Nelson |
| 9 | 19 May 2002 | Instinet Classic | −15 (69-67-65=201) | 4 strokes | John Jacobs |
*Note: Tournament shortened to 36 holes due to weather.
Japan Senior PGA Tour Wins (9)
- 1994 Japan Senior Open
- 1995 American Express Grand Slam, Japan Senior Open
- 1996 Japan Senior Open
- 1997 Japan Senior Open
- 2000 N. Cup Senior Open
- 2002 N. Cup Senior Open
- 2007 Japan Senior Open
- 2008 Kinojo Senior Open
Results in Major Championships
Major championships are the most important tournaments in golf. Here's how Isao Aoki did in them:
| Tournament | 1974 | 1975 | 1976 | 1977 | 1978 | 1979 | 1980 | 1981 | 1982 | 1983 | 1984 | 1985 | 1986 | 1987 | 1988 | 1989 | 1990 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | CUT | CUT | T28 | CUT | T34 | CUT | T45 | CUT | 19 | T25 | T16 | CUT | CUT | T25 | |||
| U.S. Open | T36 | 2 | T11 | T30 | T16 | T14 | T50 | T33 | T33 | ||||||||
| The Open Championship | CUT | T7 | T7 | T12 | T11 | T20 | T47 | T7 | CUT | ||||||||
| PGA Championship | CUT | T4 | T49 | CUT | CUT | T36 | CUT | T38 | T17 | T40 |
Top 10 Did not play CUT = missed the halfway cut (meaning he didn't play the final rounds)
"T" = tied for that position
Summary of Major Championship Performance
| Tournament | Wins | 2nd | 3rd | Top-5 | Top-10 | Top-25 | Events | Cuts made |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 14 | 7 |
| U.S. Open | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 9 | 9 |
| The Open Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 7 |
| PGA Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 10 | 6 |
| Totals | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 16 | 42 | 29 |
- He made the cut (meaning he played all rounds) in 7 tournaments in a row from the 1988 Masters to the 1990 U.S. Open.
- He had a top-10 finish five times.
Results in The Players Championship
The Players Championship is another very important golf tournament.
| Tournament | 1982 | 1983 | 1984 | 1985 | 1986 | 1987 | 1988 | 1989 | 1990 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Players Championship | CUT | T43 | T15 | T7 | CUT | T24 | T60 | CUT | CUT |
Top 10 CUT = missed the halfway cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place
Results in Senior Major Championships
These are the biggest tournaments for senior golfers.
| Tournament | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Senior PGA Championship | 3 | T5 | T5 | 2 | T20 | T44 | T15 | T62 | T20 | CUT |
| The Tradition | 6 | T9 | 2 | T12 | 2 | T13 | T28 | T47 | T35 | |
| Senior Players Championship | T5 | T3 | 6 | T30 | T2 | 3 | T14 | T18 | T17 | 21 |
| U.S. Senior Open | T20 | 10 | T3 | 11 | T49 | T4 | CUT | T47 | T2 | T18 |
| Tournament | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Senior PGA Championship | CUT | T27 | T62 | T28 | CUT | CUT | CUT | |||
| The Tradition | T20 | T53 | T32 | T67 | T71 | T57 | 64 | |||
| Senior Players Championship | T12 | T28 | T18 | 52 | ||||||
| U.S. Senior Open | T30 | T45 | CUT | |||||||
| Senior British Open Championship | T14 | T22 | T36 | T60 | CUT | 50 | CUT | DQ | CUT | CUT |
Top 10 Did not play CUT = missed the halfway cut
DQ = disqualified
"T" indicates a tie for a place
Note: The Senior British Open Championship became a major tournament in 2003.
Team Appearances
Isao Aoki also played for Japan in several team golf events:
- World Cup: 1973, 1974
- Alfred Dunhill Cup: 1985, 1999, 2000
- Nissan Cup/Kirin Cup: 1985, 1987, 1988
- UBS Warburg Cup (representing the Rest of the World): 2001, 2002
- Dynasty Cup (representing Japan): 2003 (as a non-playing captain), 2005 (as a non-playing captain)
Awards and Honors
Isao Aoki has received many important awards for his amazing golf career:
- Member of the World Golf Hall of Fame (2004)
- Medal with Purple Ribbon (2008) - An award from the Japanese government for people who have contributed to arts, sports, and science.
- Order of the Rising Sun, 4th Class, Gold Rays with Rosette (2015) - Another high honor from the Japanese government.
- Person of Cultural Merit (2024) - A special recognition for people who have made outstanding cultural contributions.
See also
- List of golfers with most Japan Golf Tour wins
