Isao Aoki

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 is also one of nine players in the history of the Open Championship to shoot a round of just 63 shots (which he achieved in the third round of the 1980 event). Despite this being the joint-best round in the history of the tournament, Aoki would only finish in tied 12th spot that year.

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.

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)

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning score	Margin of victory	Runners-up
1	4 Sep 1983	Panasonic European Open	−6 (65-70-70-69=274)	2 strokes	Seve Ballesteros, Nick Faldo, Carl Mason

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 Classic

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

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

Summary

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

Results are not in chronological order before 2012.

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.

• World Cup (representing Japan): 1973, 1974
• Alfred Dunhill Cup (representing Japan): 1985, 1999, 2000
• Nissan Cup/Kirin Cup (representing Japan): 1985, 1987, 1988
• UBS Warburg Cup (representing the Rest of the World): 2001, 2002

• 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)