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Isao Aoki

Born: August 31, 1942
Age: 81

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Biography

Isao Aoki (青木功, Aoki Isao?, born 31 August 1942) 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 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. 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 Japanese government efforts to dissuade him from making the trip.

As a senior, Aoki has played mainly 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.

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Professional wins (77)

Japan Golf Tour wins (51)

1973 (5) Chunichi Crowns, Pepsi-Wilson Tournament, Sapporo Tokyu Open, KBC Augusta, Japan PGA Championship
1974 (4) Tozai Taiko (JPGA East-West Match), Kanto Open, Kanto Pro Championship, Sanpo Classic
1975 (2) Chunichi Crowns, Kanto Open
1976 (1) Tokai Classic
1977 (3) Tohoku Classic, Jun Classic, ABC Japan vs USA Golf Matches
1978 (6) Chunichi Crowns, Japan PGA Match-Play Championship, Sapporo Tokyu Open, Kanto Pro Championship, Nippon Series, ABC Japan vs USA Golf Matches
1979 (4) Chunichi Crowns, Japan PGA Match-Play Championship, Kanto Pro Championship, Nippon Series
1980 (5) Chunichi Crowns, Yomiuri Open, KBC Augusta, Kanto Open, Jun Classic
1981 (3) Shizuoka Open, Japan PGA Match-Play Championship, Japan PGA Championship
1982 (2) Japan PGA Match-Play Championship, Daikyo Open
1983 (4) Sapporo Tokyu Open, Kanto Pro Championship, Japan Open, Nippon Series
1986 (4) Sapporo Tokyu Open, Japan PGA Championship, KBC Augusta, Kanto Open
1987 (4) Dunlop International Open, ANA Open, Japan Open, 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

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 (the official start of the tour).

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)

1983 Panasonic European Open

Other wins (7)

1971 Kanto Pro Championship (Japan)
1972 Kanto Pro Championship (Japan)
1973 Gold Beck
1978 Colgate World Match Play Championship (England)
1982 Old Sones Invitational
1987 Fred Meyer Challenge (with Payne Stewart)
1989 Coca Cola Golf Classic (Australia)

Champions 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 at Opryland	−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 at Opryland	−18 (62-66-70=198)	2 strokes	Larry Nelson
9	19 May 2002	The Instinet Classic	−15 (69-67-65=201)	4 strokes	John Jacobs

Champions Tour playoff record (1-4)

No.	Year	Tournament	Opponent	Result
1	1994	The Transamerica	Kermit Zarley	Lost to birdie on first extra hole
2	1995	The Tradition	Jack Nicklaus	Lost to birdie on third extra hole
3	1997	Emerald Coast Classic	Gil Morgan	Won with par on second extra hole
4	1998	Coldwell Banker Burnet Classic	Leonard Thompson	Lost to birdie on second extra hole
5	2000	State Farm Senior Classic	Leonard Thompson	Lost to birdie on second extra hole

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

Tournament	1974	1975	1976	1977	1978	1979	1980	1981	1982	1983	1984	1985	1986	1987	1988	1989	1990
Masters Tournament	CUT	CUT	DNP	T28	CUT	T34	CUT	T45	CUT	19	T25	T16	CUT	CUT	T25	DNP	DNP
U.S. Open	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	T36	2	T11	T30	DNP	T16	DNP	DNP	T14	T50	T33	T33
The Open Championship	DNP	DNP	DNP	CUT	T7	T7	T12	T11	T20	DNP	T47	DNP	DNP	DNP	T7	DNP	CUT
PGA Championship	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	CUT	DNP	T4	T49	CUT	CUT	DNP	T36	CUT	T38	T17	T40

DNP = Did not play
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" = tied
Yellow background for top-10.

Summary

Tournament	2nd	Top-5	Top-10	Top-25	Events	Cuts made
Masters Tournament	0	0	0	4	14	7
U.S. Open	1	1	1	4	9	9
The Open Championship	0	0	3	6	9	7
PGA Championship	0	1	1	2	10	6
Totals	1	2	5	16	42	29

Most consecutive cuts made - 7 (1988 Masters - 1990 U.S. Open)
Longest streak of top-10s - 1 (five times)

Results in senior majors

Results are not in chronological order before 2012.

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	DNP	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	DNP	DNP	DNP
The Tradition	T20	T53	T32	T67	T71	DNP	T57	64	DNP	DNP
Senior Players Championship	T12	T28	T18	52	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP
U.S. Senior Open	T30	DNP	DNP	T45	CUT	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP
Senior British Open Championship	T14	T22	T36	T60	CUT	50	CUT	DQ	CUT	CUT

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

World Cup (representing Japan): 1973, 1974
Alfred Dunhill Cup (representing Japan): 1985, 1999, 2000

Honours

Member of the World Golf Hall of Fame (2004)
Medal with Purple Ribbon (2008)
Order of the Rising Sun, 4th Class, Gold Rays with Rosette (2015)

[ Source: Wikipedia ]

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