Japan's champion golfer Jumbo Ozaki has died of cancer at the age of 78

Jumbo Ozaki has died after a battle with colon cancer.The Japan Golf Tour announced that Ozaki died on Wednesday at the age of 78.

Jumbo Ozaki dies of cancer at the age of 78.He had the most wins of any Japanese golfer

Jumbo Ozaki died of cancer at the age of 78. He had the most victories of any Japanese golfer.

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

Ozaki is revered in Japan as a big hitter with a sense of style who has won 94 times on the Japan Golf Tour in 29 years, most recently in 2002.at the ANA Open when he was 55.

In 1996, at the age of 49, he rose to fifth in the world rankings. Ozaki is often overlooked because he never won outside of Japan, except for the New Zealand PGA Championship.In 2011, he was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame.

"He is the only person we need to talk to about men's golf, now and in the future," he said on social media during the tour.

Ozaki competed in 49 Majors, his best finish at the 1989 US Open at Oak Hill, when he finished three shots behind Curtis Strange.

Isao Aoki is the first Japanese player in the Golf Hall of Fame, and Hideki Matsuyama became the first to win the 2021 Masters.Both are supported in some way by Ozaki, a pioneer in a country 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 from 1994 to 1998, including five consecutive times from 1994 to 1998. In 2002, when he was 55 years old, he won the ultimate money title.

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

"But I have dedicated my life to golf in Japan and I am very grateful that the voters thought I deserved this honor," he said after his election.He received 50% of the votes in the international polls.

Ozaki was considered the Arnold Palmer of golf in Japan, with his powerful swing, charisma and sense of style, often wearing silk shirts and baggy pants.And his skills were not limited to golf.According to the Hall of Fame, he played guitar and had three songs that reached the pop charts in Japan.

His first love was baseball and he played professionally for three years before taking up golf.This was evident when Ryo Ishikawa, who won his first Japan Golf Tour title at age 15, spoke about the influence of Ozaki.Ishikawa said he would visit Ozaki about 10 times a year for advice.

“Jumbo used to be a baseball player.So he always tried to teach me the connection between throwing and golfing,” Ishikawa said in a 2010 interview with The Associated Press. “Jumbo wanted me to hit the ball far.”

Ozaki traveled with an entourage when playing outside Japan in the majors, usually renting a house and cooking a sushi chef so his people would feel at home.

He has two younger brothers who played on tour, Naomichi (Joe) and Tatio (Jett).

Ozaki played in the 1996 Presidents Cup, partnering with Vijay Singh to beat the American pair of Fred Cupples and Davis Love III.He qualified for the 1998 team but decided not to go to Australia, and his older brother Joe played instead.

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