Justin Rose mourns loss of golf icon Masashi ‘Jumbo’ Ozaki with heartfelt message

Justin Rose paid tribute to Japanese golf legend Masashi “Jumbo” Ozaki following news of his passing. Ozaki, widely regarded as the most successful professional golfer in Japan’s history, died at the age of 78 after battling colon cancer, as confirmed by the Japan Golf Tour (JGTO).

The JGTO announced Ozaki’s death through its official X account on Wednesday, stating that he passed away at 3:21 p.m. on December 23 due to S-shaped colon cancer. Rose reshared the post on Thursday, December 25, and added a brief but heartfelt message of his own, writing:

“RIP Jumbo… what a player and gentleman. 🙏”

Although Rose and Jumbo never played against each other, mainly because their peak years and tour schedules were different, Rose’s message showed the level of respect Ozaki held across the golf world. He was a dominant force on the Japan Golf Tour for many years and won The Crowns tournament three times. Rose later won the same event in 2002.

Known as “Jumbo” for his power off the tee, Ozaki enjoyed a legendary career built on consistency and longevity. He recorded 113 professional wins worldwide, the highest by any Japanese golfer. This included 94 victories on the Japan Golf Tour over 29 years. His final tour win came at the ANA Open at the age of 55.

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How Masashi ‘Jumbo’ Ozaki built a legendary golf career

Masashi “Jumbo” Ozaki’s rise in professional golf was anything but conventional. Before making his mark on the fairways, Ozaki was a professional baseball player. He switched to golf in his mid-20s and quickly made an impact, winning his first professional event in 1973 at the age of 26, and went on to enjoy a long and successful career at the top level.

Masashi became known as one of Japan’s most reliable performers, especially in major championships. He finished inside the top 10 at The Open Championship, the Masters, and the U.S. Open. His best major result came at the 1989 U.S. Open at Oak Hill, where he finished three shots behind Curtis Strange. Overall, he played 49 majors and competed at the Masters 19 times. His final appearance there came in 2000, when he tied for 28th at the age of 53.

Even though most of his career was spent in Japan, Jumbo still made a strong impact on the world stage. He rose to No. 5 in the Official World Golf Ranking in 1996 at the age of 49 and stayed inside the top 10 for nearly 200 weeks. He was often mentioned for not winning many events outside Japan, although he did win the New Zealand PGA Championship.

At home, Jumbo’s dominance was clear. He won the Japan Open five times and claimed the Japan PGA Championship six times. He also finished at the top of the Japan Golf Tour money list a record 12 times including five straight seasons from 1994 to 1998.

His contributions to the sport were formally recognized in 2011 when he was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame after receiving 50 percent of the vote on the International ballot. Speaking at the time, he acknowledged his one regret of not competing more outside Japan.

"But I dedicated my life to Japanese golf and am extremely grateful the voters thought I was worthy of this honor," he said. (via ESPN)

Away from the course, Masashi also tried his hand at music and released three singles that reached the Japanese charts in the late 1980s.

Edited by Sonali Verma