Isao Aoki

Isao Aoki (青木 功) is a Japanese professional golfer. He was elected to the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2004.

Career
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, the first Japanese and Asian player to win on the 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 the 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 at the time, Aoki would only finish tied for 12th 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 the efforts of the Japanese government to dissuade him from making the trip.

As a senior, Aoki has played primarily 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.

PGA of Japan Tour wins (51)
 * Note: Tournament shortened to 36/63 holes due to weather. 1Co-sanctioned by the Asia Golf Circuit

PGA of Japan Tour playoff record (4–9)

Other wins (8)

 * 1971 Kanto Pro Championship (Japan)
 * 1972 Kanto Pro Championship (Japan)
 * 1973 Gold Beck
 * 1977 Jun Classic
 * 1978 Colgate World Match Play Championship (England)
 * 1982 Old Sones Invitational, Daikyo Open
 * 1987 Fred Meyer Challenge (with Payne Stewart)

Senior PGA Tour wins (9)
 * Note: Tournament shortened to 36 holes due to weather.

Senior PGA Tour playoff record (1–4)

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
{{legend|yellow|Top 10}} {{legend|#eeeeee|Did not play}} CUT = missed the half-way cut (3rd round cut in 1977 Open Championship) "T" = tied

Summary

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

Results in The Players Championship
{{legend|yellow|Top 10}} CUT = missed the halfway cut "T" indicates a tie for a place

Results in senior major championships
Results not in chronological order before 2012.

{{legend|yellow|Top 10}} {{legend|#eeeeee|Did not play}} CUT = missed the halfway cut DQ = disqualified "T" indicates a tie for a place Note: The Senior British Open Championship did not become a major until 2003.

Team appearances

 * 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
 * Dynasty Cup (representing Japan): 2003 (non-playing captain), 2005 (non-playing captain)

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)