Up until this year, Golf in Japan had been in steady decline since the 1990s, with a massive 40% drop in those playing the game.
Then Hideki Matsuyama won the Masters.
The impact of Matsuyama’s astounding win will be felt across the whole of Japan for many years to come, injecting new life into Japanese golf and inspiring an entire generation to wake up and take up the game. And in the year that Japan hosts the Olympics… well, the timing couldn’t be better.
A genuine class act who took this year’s Masters by storm, Matsuyama has already catapulted his way to the very top of the list when it comes to Japan’s all-time greats. But what about his predecessors? Who inspired the man who will, no doubt, inspire so many others?
Let’s take a look at some of the best Japanese golfers in history. But first… how did the game first arrive in the land of the rising sun?
Golf in Japan: the formative years
1901–1903: Arthur Hesketh Groom and a group of British expats build a small private 4-hole golf course, which later expands into a 9-hole. Kobe Golf Club becomes the first golf club in Japan.
1913: Tokyo Golf Club becomes the first homegrown course, built by and for Japanese golfers and inspired by golf courses in the U.S.
1924: The JGA (Japan Golf Association) is founded, leading to the creation of several new courses across the country.
1930s–1940s: the great depression and WW2 limits the growth of the game, as golf courses in Japan are first requisitioned by the Japanese military and then seized by U.S. forces following the war.
1950s: golf clubs return to Japanese control, leading to a massive golf boom. Then, in 1957, two players – Torakichi “Pete” Nakamura and Koichi Ono – pull off a historic victory, teeing off a new era of golf in Japan.
Golf in Japan 1957–2021: the players who made it happen
The history of modern Japanese golf is bookended by two big successes. The first took place back in 1957, when two unknown golfers triumphed in the first major international sporting event to take place in the Far East.
Torakichi “Pete” Nakamura and Koichi Ono
Few golfers have been quite as influential for their country as Torakichi “Pete” Nakamura and Koichi Ono. Their stunning victory over Sam Snead and Jimmy Demaret in the 1957 Canada Cup (which later became the World Cup of Golf) brought the game to the attention of the post war generation in Japan, setting the course for a rise in popularity that would continue for the rest of the century.
It wasn’t just the victory that caught the imagination, but the manner of the victory – Nakamura and Ono won by a massive nine clear shots. The following year, both Nakamura – who became known as “the Putting God” – and Ono were invited to play at the Masters, becoming not only the first Japanese players but the first non-white players to play at the prestigious tournament.
Masashi “Jumbo” Ozaki
Picking up the nickname “Jumbo” for his height and big drive off the tee, Masashi Ozaki was regarded as the greatest Japanese golfer of all time – only recently pushed off his perch following Hideki Matsuyama’s spectacular Masters win.
Ozaki has racked up an incredible 94 Japan Golf Tour victories – 40 more than the second highest player – and was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2011. Although he never won in the U.S., Ozaki finished in the top-10 on three occasions, including 6th place in the 1989 U.S. Open. Now in his seventies, Ozaki is still showing the youngsters how it’s done.
Isao Aoki
Second only to Jumbo Ozaki when it comes to Japan Golf Tour victories, Isao Aoki is another golfing legend in Japan. And while Ozaki had far better success domestically, Aoki managed to achieve greater acclaim on the international circuit.
He became a household name after finishing second to Jack Nicklaus at the 1980 U.S. Open and then went on to become the first Japanese player to win on the PGA Tour with victory at the 1983 Hawaiian Open.
Tsuneyuki “Tommy” Nakajima
Third on the list of all-time Japan Golf Tour winners with 48, Tsuneyuki “Tommy” Nakajima was one of a wave of Japanese golfers born around the time of Japan’s famous victory at the Canada Cup. The pressure of the early hype got the better of him and his early career was blighted with two infamous holes – including a slew of terrible shots – at the Masters and the Open in 1978.
Still, he recovered to find major domestic success and to finish third at the 1988 PGA Championship, as well as a further six career top-10s in majors.
Naomichi “Joe” Ozaki
Jumbo’s younger brother, Joe carved out a great career in his own right and ended it fourth on the all-time Japan Golf Tour victories list. Despite never threatening to enter the top 10 in major tournaments, Ozaki the younger was part of the winning team at the 1998 International Presidents Cup, the only team to ever beat the Americans in the tournament’s history.
Shingo Katayama
Nicknamed “Cowboy Shingo” due to his penchant for cowboy hats, Shingo Katayama is one of the finest Japanese golfers of the 21st century. Up until Hideki Matsuyama’s victory at this year’s Masters, Katayama had the distinction of the joint-best Augusta performance by a Japanese player (with Toshimitsu Izawa), finishing 4th in 2009.
His other notable performance came at the 2001 PGA Championships, where he slipped down to finish joint 4th following a 2-day lead.
Hideki Matsuyama
The new king – or should that be ‘emperor’ – of Japanese golf, Hideki Matsuyama became the first Japanese golfer to win a men’s major golf championship with his triumph at this year’s Masters. At the age of 29, he already has six wins on the PGA Tour, making him the most successful Japanese member of the PGA tour in history. Besides his famous Masters win, Matsuyama also finished 2nd at the 2017 U.S. Open and, over the past few years, has staked his claim as one of the best golfers on the planet.
As we enter a new chapter in the story of Japanese golf, it seems hard to understate just how much of a monumental influence Hideki Matsuyama could have on golf in Japan. For the rest of us, we get to watch and marvel at the evolution of this humble superstar.
