# Naomichi Ozaki

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

## Professional career

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)
### Japan Golf Tour wins (32)

* 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 | 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)

* 1987 Masaaki Hirao Pro-Am
* 1989 Daiichi Fudosan Cup, Imperial Open

### Japan PGA Senior Tour wins (3)

* 2012 Starts Senior Tournament, Komatsu Country Club
* 2014 Japan PGA Senior Championship

## Playoff record

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

| Tournament | 1984 | 1985 | 1989 | 1990 | 1992 | 1993 | 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 |
CUT = missed the half-way cut WD = Withdrew "T" = tied

## Results in The Players Championship

| Tournament | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 |
| The Players Championship | T6 | T45 | T8 | CUT | T65 | T18 | T10 | T27 | T26 |
CUT = missed the halfway cut "T" indicates a tie for a place

## Results in World Golf Championships

| Tournament | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 |
| Match Play | R64 | R32 | R32 |
| Championship | T40 | T35 | NT$^1$ |
| Invitational | 41 | | |
$^1$Cancelled due to 9/11
QF, R16, R32, R64 = Round in which player lost in match play "T" = Tied NT = No tournament

## Team appearances

This list may be incomplete.
* Four Tours World Championship (representing Japan): 1985, 1986 (winners), 1989, 1990
* World Cup (representing Japan): 1985
* Dunhill Cup (representing Japan): 1986, 1988, 1989, 1996
* Presidents Cup (International team): 1998 (winners)
* Royal Trophy (Asian team): 2007 (non-playing captain), 2009 (non-playing captain, winners), 2010 (non-playing captain), 2011 (non-playing captain), 2012 (winners, non-playing captain)