Discover

'Isao Aoki'

'Personal Information'
'Birth'	Abiko, Chiba, Japan
'Height'	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
'Weight'	180 lb (82 kg)
'Nationality'
'College'	None
Career
'Turned Pro'	1964
'Current tour'	Champions Tour
'Professional wins'	74 (Japan Golf Tour: 52, PGA Tour: 1, Champions Tour: 9, Japan Senior PGA Tour: 6, Other: 6)
Best Results in Major Championships
Masters	T16: 1985
U.S. Open	2nd: 1980
British Open	T7: 1978, 1979, 1988
PGA Championship	T4: 1981
Awards
Japan Golf Tour Money Winner	1976, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981
World Golf Hall of Fame	2004

is one of Japan's most successful golfers. He was elected to the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2004.
Aoki was born in Abiko, Chiba, Japan. He was introduced to golf while caddying at the Abiko Golf Club as a schoolboy. He turned professional in 1964. He went on to win more than fifty events on the Japan Golf Tour between 1972 and 1990, trailing only Masashi "Jumbo" Ozaki on the golfers with most Japan Golf Tour wins list. He won the Japan Golf Tour money list five times in six years: 1976, 1978, 1979, 1980, and 1981. He is sixth on the career money list (through 2006).
In 1983, Aoki won the Hawaiian Open on the U.S. based PGA Tour and the Panasonic European Open on the European Tour. He also won the prestigious World Match Play Championship in England in 1978, which was not a European Tour event at that time, and picked up a win on the PGA Tour of Australasia.
Aoki played 165 times on the PGA Tour between 1974 and 1999, primarily from 1981 to 1990. His best finish in a major championship was a second place finish to Jack Nicklaus (by two strokes) in the 1980 U.S. Open. That finish, combined with his recent record in Japan and around the globe, meant that Aoki would finish 1980 ranked third in the unofficial McCormack's World Golf Rankings, a position he would hold at the end of 1981.
As a senior, Aoki has played mainly in the United States on the Champions Tour, winning nine times between 1992 and 2003. He has six senior victories outside the United States, including three victories in the Japan Senior Open.

Contents

Professional wins (74)

Japan Golf Tour wins (52)

PGA Tour wins (1)

Other wins (6)

Champions Tour wins (9)

Japan Senior PGA Tour wins (6)

Results in major championships

External links

Professional wins (74)

Japan Golf Tour wins (52)

★ 1971 (1) Kanto Pro

★ 1972 (1) Kanto Pro

★ 1973 (5) Chuncihi Crowns, Pepsi Wilson, Sapporo Tokyu Open, KBC Augusta, Japan PGA Championship

★ 1974 (3) Tozai Taiko, Kanto Pro, Sanpo Classic

★ 1975 (2) Chunichi Crowns, Kanto Open

★ 1976 (1) Tokai Classic

★ 1977 (2) Tohoku Classic, Jun Classic

★ 1978 (5) Chunichi Crowns, Japan Pro Match Play, Sapporo Tokyu, Kanto Pro, Golf Nippon Series

★ 1979 (4) Chunichi Crowns, Japan Pro Match Play, Kanto Open, Golf Nippon Series

★ 1980 (5) Chunichi Crowns, Yomiuri Open, KBC Augusta, Kanto Open, Jun Classic

★ 1981 (3) Shizuoka Open, Japan Pro Match Play, Japan PGA Championship

★ 1982 (2) Japan Pro Match Play, Daikyo Open

★ 1983 (4) Sapporo Tokyu Open, Kanto Pro, Japan Open, Golf Nippon Series

★ 1986 (4) Sapporo Tokyu Open, Japan PGA Championship, KBC Augusta, Kanto Open

★ 1987 (4) Dunlop International Open, All Nippon Airline Open, Japan Open, Golf Nippon Series (tie with David Ishii)

★ 1989 (2) Tokai Classic, Casio World Open

★ 1990 (1) Mitsubishi Galant Tournament

★ 1991 (1) Bridgestone Open

★ 1992 (2) Mitsubishi Galant Tournament, Casio World Open
This list, from the PGA Tour and World Golf Hall of Fame sites, contains 52 wins. His profile on the Japan Golf Tour site says he has 51 wins from 1973 (the official start of the tour) but only details wins from 1985 on. There appears to be one win missing from the years 1973-1984.

PGA Tour wins (1)

★ 1983 Hawaiian Open

Other wins (6)

★ 1973 Gold Beck

★ 1978 World Match Play Championship (England)

★ 1982 Old Sones Invitational

★ 1983 Panasonic European Open (European Tour)

★ 1987 Fred Meyer Challenge (with Payne Stewart)

★ 1989 Coca Cola Golf Classic (Australia)

Champions Tour wins (9)

★ 1992 (1) Nationwide Championship

★ 1994 (2) Bank One Senior Classic, Brickyard Crossing Championship

★ 1995 (1) Bank of Boston Senior Classic

★ 1996 (2) BellSouth Senior Classic at Opryland, Kroger Senior Classic

★ 1997 (1) Emerald Coast Classic

★ 1998 (1) BellSouth Senior Classic at Opryland

★ 2002 (1) The Instinet Classic

Japan Senior PGA Tour wins (6)

★ 1994 Japan Senior Open

★ 1995 American Express Grand Slam, Japan Senior Open

★ 1996 Japan Senior Open

★ 2000 N. Cup Senior Open

★ 2002 N. Cup Senior Open

Results in major championships

Tournament	1974	1975	1976	1977	1978	1979
The Masters	CUT	CUT	DNP	T28	CUT	T34
U.S. Open	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	T36
The Open Championship	DNP	DNP	DNP	CUT	T7	T7
PGA Championship	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	CUT

Tournament	1980	1981	1982	1983	1984	1985	1986	1987	1988	1989
The Masters	CUT	T45	CUT	19	T25	T16	CUT	CUT	T25	DNP
U.S. Open	2	T11	T30	DNP	T16	DNP	DNP	T14	T50	T33
The Open Championship	T12	T11	T20	DNP	T47	DNP	DNP	DNP	T7	DNP
PGA Championship	DNP	T4	T49	CUT	CUT	DNP	T36	CUT	T38	T17

Tournament	1990
The Masters	DNP
U.S. Open	T33
The Open Championship	CUT
PGA Championship	T40

DNP = Did not play

CUT = missed the half-way cut

"T" = tied

Green background for wins. Yellow background for top-10.

External links

★ Profile on the PGA Tour's official site

★ Profile of the Japan Golf Tour's official site

★ Profile of World Golf Hall of Fame site