Naomichi "Joe" Ozaki (尾崎直道, Ozaki Naomichi, ジョー ) (born 18 May 1956) is a Japanese professional golfer.

Naomichi Ozaki
尾崎直道
Personal information
NicknameJoe
Born (1956-05-18) 18 May 1956 (age 67)
Tokushima Prefecture, Japan
Height1.74 m (5 ft 9 in)
Weight76 kg (168 lb; 12.0 st)
Sporting nationality Japan
Career
Turned professional1977
Current tour(s)Champions Tour
Japan PGA Senior Tour
Former tour(s)PGA Tour
Japan Golf Tour
Professional wins38
Number of wins by tour
Japan Golf Tour32 (4th all-time)
Other6
Best results in major championships
Masters TournamentT33: 1990
PGA ChampionshipT28: 1992
U.S. OpenT25: 1993
The Open ChampionshipT38: 1998
Achievements and awards
Japan Golf Tour
money list winner
1991, 1999

Professional career edit

Ozaki was born in Tokushima Prefecture, Japan. He turned professional in 1977 and won 32 tournaments on the Japan Golf Tour between 1984 and 2005. He ranks fourth on the list of most Japan Golf Tour wins. He topped the money list in 1991 and 1999. He is fifth on the career money list (through 2014).

Ozaki played 185 times on the PGA Tour from 1984 to 2001, primarily from 1993 to 2001. His best finish was a T-2 at the 1997 Buick Open. His best finish in a major championship was a T-25 at the 1993 U.S. Open.

In 2005, he came in third at the Champions Tour Qualifying Tournament, and he began play on that tour after turning 50 in May 2006. His best finishes are a playoff loss at the 2007 Boeing Classic and a T-2 in the 2010 Regions Charity Classic.

Ozaki played on the International Team in the 1998 Presidents Cup.

Ozaki's older brother, Masashi "Jumbo" Ozaki, topped the Japan Golf Tour money list twelve times, and another brother, Tateo "Jet" Ozaki, is also a professional golfer.

Professional wins (38) edit

Japan Golf Tour wins (32) edit

Legend
Flagship events (2)
Japan majors (1)
Other Japan Golf Tour (30)
No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory
Runner(s)-up
1 18 Mar 1984 Shizuoka Open −2 (71-70-75-70=286) 5 strokes   Eitaro Deguchi,   Yoshitaka Yamamoto
2 10 Jun 1984 Sapporo Tokyu Open −8 (71-69-68-72=280) 2 strokes   Isao Aoki
3 26 Aug 1984 KBC Augusta −13 (71-64-70-70=275) 1 stroke   Kouichi Inoue,   Tsuneyuki Nakajima
4 18 Aug 1985 Nikkei Cup −14 (66-68-68-68=274) 4 strokes   Yoshihisa Iwashita
5 24 May 1986 Pepsi Ube Open −12 (71-69-68-68=276) 1 stroke   Fujio Kobayashi
6 5 Jul 1987 Kanto Pro Championship −4 (68-72-72=212)* 1 stroke   Nobumitsu Yuhara
7 12 Jun 1988 Sapporo Tokyu Open (2) −9 (70-74-64-71=279) 3 strokes   Tateo Ozaki
8 31 Jul 1988 NST Niigata Open −11 (70-66-69-72=277) 3 strokes   David Ishii
9 18 Sep 1988 ANA Open −10 (63-69-73-73=278) Playoff   Brian Jones
10 4 Dec 1988 Golf Nippon Series Hitachi Cup −13 (69-70-68-68=275) 5 strokes   Isao Aoki
11 26 Mar 1989 Setonaikai Open −6 (68-74-69-71=282) 2 strokes   Kinpachi Yoshimura
12 13 May 1990 Japan PGA Match-Play Championship Unisys Cup 6 and 5   Brian Jones
13 23 Sep 1990 Gene Sarazen Jun Classic −11 (68-66-69-70=273) 1 stroke   Yoshinori Kaneko
14 2 Dec 1990 Golf Nippon Series Hitachi Cup (2) −13 (71-69-64-71=275) Playoff   Tsuneyuki Nakajima
15 28 Jul 1991 Nikkei Cup (2) −7 (67-66-70=203)* Playoff   Eiichi Itai
16 15 Sep 1991 Suntory Open −12 (67-69-72-68=276) 2 strokes   Chen Tze-chung
17 1 Dec 1991 Casio World Open −18 (71-67-64-68=270) 2 strokes   Hajime Meshiai
18 8 Dec 1991 Golf Nippon Series Hitachi Cup (3) −20 (71-65-66-66=268) 8 strokes   Tsuneyuki Nakajima,   Nobumitsu Yuhara
19 15 Mar 1992 Imperial Open −8 (71-68-71-70=280) 3 strokes   Seiki Okuda
20 13 Sep 1992 Suntory Open (2) −9 (67-72-67-73=279) 2 strokes   Wayne Grady,   Tateo Ozaki,
  Yoshikazu Yokoshima,   Nobumitsu Yuhara
21 1 Nov 1992 Lark Cup −9 (68-68-71-72=279) 1 stroke   Masashi Ozaki
22 14 Aug 1994 Acom International 41 pts (14-2-12-13=41) 6 points   Masayuki Kawamura
23 27 Oct 1996 Philip Morris Championship −10 (71-70-67-70=278) 4 strokes   Russ Cochran,   David Ishii,
  Masashi Ozaki
24 6 Jul 1997 PGA Philanthropy Tournament −17 (66-64-68-69=267) 9 strokes   Eiji Mizoguchi,   Tsuyoshi Yoneyama
25 13 Jul 1997 Yonex Open Hiroshima −12 (69-71-68-68=276) 2 strokes   Hiroyuki Fujita
26 18 Apr 1999 Tsuruya Open −15 (65-70-66-72=273) 2 strokes   Toru Suzuki
27 16 May 1999 Japan PGA Championship −5 (70-71-73-69=283) 2 strokes   Masashi Ozaki
28 3 Oct 1999 Japan Open Golf Championship +10 (68-76-76-78=298) 2 strokes   Kazuhiko Hosokawa,   Nobumitsu Yuhara
29 15 Oct 2000 Japan Open Golf Championship (2) −3 (67-72-70-72=281) 1 stroke   Lin Keng-chi
30 26 Oct 2003 Bridgestone Open −21 (66-69-67-65=267) Playoff   Paul Sheehan
31 24 Apr 2005 Tsuruya Open (2) −13 (67-69-67-68=271) 3 strokes   Ryoken Kawagishi,   Paul Sheehan
32 1 May 2005 The Crowns −11 (68-67-67-67=269) Playoff   Steven Conran

*Note: Tournament shortened to 54 holes due to rain.

Japan Golf Tour playoff record (5–3)

No. Year Tournament Opponent(s) Result
1 1988 Mitsubishi Galant Tournament   Brian Jones Lost to birdie on first extra hole
2 1988 ANA Open   Brian Jones Won with par on third extra hole
3 1989 Gene Sarazen Jun Classic   Tateo Ozaki Lost to par on second extra hole
4 1990 Golf Nippon Series   Tsuneyuki Nakajima Won with birdie on third extra hole
5 1991 Nikkei Cup   Eiichi Itai Won with par on first extra hole
6 2002 Sun Chlorella Classic   Brendan Jones,   Christian Peña Peña won with birdie on first extra hole
7 2003 Bridgestone Open   Paul Sheehan Won with birdie on second extra hole
8 2005 The Crowns   Steven Conran Won with par on second extra hole

Other wins (3) edit

Japan PGA Senior Tour wins (3) edit

Playoff record edit

Champions Tour playoff record (0–1)

No. Year Tournament Opponents Result
1 2007 Boeing Classic   R. W. Eaks,   David Eger,
  Gil Morgan,   Dana Quigley,
  Craig Stadler,   Denis Watson
Watson won with eagle on second extra hole
Eger, Ozaki, Morgan and Quigley eliminated by birdie on first hole

Results in major championships edit

Tournament 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001
Masters Tournament T33 CUT T45 CUT
U.S. Open T25
The Open Championship T62 CUT T46 T39 CUT CUT WD T38 T45 CUT CUT
PGA Championship CUT CUT T28 T44 T31 CUT CUT T44 T70 CUT CUT
  Did not play

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

Results in The Players Championship edit

Tournament 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001
The Players Championship T6 T45 T8 CUT T65 T18 T10 T27 T26
  Top 10

CUT = missed the halfway cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place

Results in World Golf Championships edit

Tournament 1999 2000 2001
Match Play R64 R32 R32
Championship T40 T35 NT1
Invitational 41

1Cancelled due to 9/11

  Did not play

QF, R16, R32, R64 = Round in which player lost in match play
"T" = Tied
NT = No tournament

Team appearances edit

This list may be incomplete.

See also edit

External links edit