Isao Aoki


Isao Aoki is a Japanese professional golfer. 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 list of golfers with most Japan Golf Tour wins. He won the Japan Golf Tour money list five times in six years: 1976, 1978, 1979, 1980, and 1981. His career earnings are 980 million yen.
In 1983, Aoki won the Hawaiian Open on the U.S.-based PGA Tour, the first Japanese player to do so, 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 is also one of the nine players in the history of the Open Championship to shoot a round of just 63 shots. Despite this being the joint-best round in the history of the tournament at the time, Aoki would only finish tied for 12th that year.
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 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. After the Official World Golf Rankings debuted in 1986, he was ranked in the top-10 for several weeks in 1987.
In December 1984 after receiving an invitation from Gary Player, Aoki traveled to South Africa to participate in the Million Dollar Challenge. Aoki did this in spite of the efforts of the Japanese government to dissuade him from making the trip.
As a senior, Aoki has played primarily in the United States on the Champions Tour, winning nine times between 1992 and 2003. He has eight senior victories outside the United States, including five victories in the Japan Senior Open where he shot his age, 65, during his most recent triumph in 2007.

Professional wins (77)

PGA Tour wins (1)

European Tour wins (1)

Japan Golf Tour wins (51)

The lists from the PGA Tour and World Golf Hall of Fame sites, contain 52 wins, the 1974 Kanto Open is missing from those. His profile on the Japan Golf Tour site says he has 51 wins from 1973.

PGA Tour of Australasia wins (1)

Other wins (6)

Senior PGA Tour playoff record
No.YearTournamentOpponentResult
11994The Transamerica Kermit ZarleyLost to birdie on first extra hole
21995The Tradition Jack NicklausLost to birdie on third extra hole
31997Emerald Coast Classic Gil MorganWon with par on second extra hole
41998Coldwell Banker Burnet Classic Leonard ThompsonLost to birdie on second extra hole
52000State Farm Senior Classic Leonard ThompsonLost to birdie on second extra hole

Japan Senior PGA Tour wins (9)

CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" = tied

Summary

Results are not in chronological order before 2012.
Note: The Senior British Open Championship did not become a major until 2003.
DNP = did not play
CUT = missed the halfway cut
DQ = disqualified
"T" indicates a tie for a place
Yellow background for top-10.

Team appearances