# 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.

## 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.

## Professional wins (80)
### 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 |

### PGA of Japan Tour wins (51)

| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | Margin of victory | Runner(s)-up |
| 1 | 29 Apr 1973 | Chunichi Crowns | −10 (66-67-68-69=270) | 1 stroke | Lu Liang-Huan |
| 2 | 20 May 1973 | Pepsi-Wilson Tournament | −7 (67-65-72-77=281) | Playoff | Kosaku Shimada |
| 3 | 17 Jun 1973 | Sapporo Tokyu Open | −7 (69-71-67-74=281) | 1 stroke | Lu Liang-Huan |
| 4 | 26 Aug 1973 | KBC Augusta | −22 (64-67-68-67=266) | 13 strokes | Yasuhiro Miyamoto |
| 5 | 21 Oct 1973 | Japan PGA Championship | −13 (64-70-68-73=275) | 8 strokes | Haruo Yasuda |
| 6 | 17 Feb 1974 | JPGA East-West Match | −5 (139) | | |
| 7 | 14 Jul 1974 | Kanto Open | −17 (65-65-71-70=271) | 12 strokes | Takaaki Kona |
| 8 | 4 Aug 1974 | Kanto Pro Championship | −21 (67-66-68-66=267) | 6 strokes | Hideyo Sugimoto |
| 9 | 15 Sep 1974 | Sanpo Classic | −12 (69-65-68-74=276) | 3 strokes | Kuo Chie-Hsiung, Masashi Ozaki |
| 10 | 29 Apr 1975 | Chunichi Crowns (2) | −6 (68-68-68-68=272) | 1 stroke | Teruo Sugihara |
| 11 | 13 Jul 1975 | Kanto Open (2) | −8 (72-72-69-67=280) | 1 stroke | Fujio Kobayashi |
| 12 | 17 Oct 1976 | Tokai Classic | −5 (74-74-68-67=283) | Playoff | Teruo Sugihara, Shigeru Uchida |
| 13 | 12 Jun 1977 | Tohoku Classic | −10 (71-67-72-68=278) | 1 stroke | Lu Liang-Huan |
| 14 | 13 Nov 1977 | ABC Japan vs USA Golf Matches | −8 (67-69-71-73=280) | 2 strokes | Tom Weiskopf |
| 15 | 30 Apr 1978 | Chunichi Crowns (3) | −10 (63-67-69-70=270) | 5 strokes | Masashi Ozaki |
| 16 | 28 May 1978 | Japan PGA Match-Play Championship | 2 and 1 | 2 and 1 | Takahiro Takeyasu |
| 17 | 18 Jun 1978 | Sapporo Tokyu Open (2) | −10 (70-69-67-72=278) | 5 strokes | Hsieh Yung-yo |
| 18 | 6 Aug 1978 | Kanto Pro Championship (2) | −14 (69-69-68-68=274) | 1 stroke | Tsuneyuki Nakajima |
| 19 | 12 Nov 1978 | ABC Japan vs USA Golf Matches (2) | −15 (71-68-64-70=273) | 5 strokes | Kosaku Shimada |
| 20 | 3 Dec 1978 | Golf Nippon Series | −8 (69-69-73-71=282) | 1 stroke | Haruo Yasuda |
| 21 | 29 Apr 1979 | Chunichi Crowns (4) | −1 (67-73-69-70=279) | 1 stroke | Tōru Nakamura, Haruo Yasuda |
| 22 | 20 May 1979 | Japan PGA Match-Play Championship (2) | 1 up | 1 up | Hsieh Min-Nan |
| 23 | 1 Jul 1979 | Kanto Pro Championship (3) | −9 (68-66-72-73=279) | 5 strokes | |
| 24 | 2 Dec 1979 | Golf Nippon Series (3) | −14 (68-71-66-71=276) | 13 strokes | Kikuo Arai, Tōru Nakamura |
| 25 | 4 May 1980 | Chunichi Crowns (5) | E (69-68-71-72=280) | 2 strokes | Graham Marsh |
| 26 | 25 May 1980 | Yomiuri Open | −9 (70-72-71-70=283) | 1 stroke | Teruo Sugihara |
| 27 | 31 Aug 1980 | KBC Augusta (2) | −7 (68-69=137)* | 2 strokes | Hiroshi Tahara |
| 28 | 28 Sep 1980 | Kanto Open (3) | +2 (71-71-75-73=290) | 1 stroke | Pete Izumikawa, Akira Yabe |
| 29 | 30 Nov 1980 | Gene Sarazen Jun Classic | −11 (68-67-70-72=277) | 1 stroke | Seve Ballesteros |
| 30 | 22 Mar 1981 | Shizuoka Open | −9 (74-69-64-72=279) | Playoff | Akira Yabe |
| 31 | 17 May 1981 | Japan PGA Match-Play Championship (3) | 38 holes | 38 holes | Katsuji Hasegawa |
| 32 | 2 Aug 1981 | Japan PGA Championship (2) | −11 (72-67-70-68=277) | 4 strokes | Tōru Nakamura |
| 33 | 16 May 1982 | Japan PGA Match-Play Championship (4) | 4 and 2 | 4 and 2 | Yutaka Hagawa |
| 34 | 12 Jun 1983 | Sapporo Tokyu Open (3) | −14 (72-65-71-66=274) | 7 strokes | Terry Gale |
| 35 | 3 Jul 1983 | Kanto Pro Championship (4) | −10 (69-68-70-35=242)* | 1 stroke | Naomichi Ozaki |
| 36 | 2 Oct 1983 | Japan Open Golf Championship | −7 (72-69-71-69=281) | Playoff | Terry Gale |
| 37 | 4 Dec 1983 | Golf Nippon Series (3) | −7 (70-71-66-74=281) | 1 stroke | Masahiro Kuramoto |
| 38 | 15 Jun 1986 | Sapporo Tokyu Open (4) | −15 (65-67-72-69=273) | 3 strokes | Shinsaku Maeda |
| 39 | 27 Jul 1986 | Japan PGA Championship (3) | −16 (66-68-69-69=272) | 4 strokes | Masashi Ozaki |
| 40 | 31 Aug 1986 | KBC Augusta (3) | −6 (74-72-69-67=282) | 1 stroke | Masahiro Kuramoto, Masashi Ozaki |
| 41 | 7 Sep 1986 | Kanto Open (4) | −13 (72-69-70-68=279) | 1 stroke | Masashi Ozaki |
| 42 | 26 Apr 1987 | Dunlop International Open$^1$ | −11 (69-67-69-72=277) | 1 stroke | Tsuneyuki Nakajima, Yoshitaka Yamamoto |
| 43 | 20 Sep 1987 | ANA Open | −6 (72-70-68-72=282) | 1 stroke | Tsukasa Watanabe |
| 44 | 11 Oct 1987 | Japan Open Golf Championship (2) | −9 (70-68-71-70=279) | 1 stroke | Tsuneyuki Nakajima, Nobuo Serizawa |
| 45 | 6 Dec 1987 | Golf Nippon Series (4) | −7 (67-71=138)* | Shared title with David Ishii | Shared title with David Ishii |
| 46 | 1 Oct 1989 | Tokai Classic (2) | −13 (67-69-71-68=275) | 5 strokes | Pete Izumikawa |
| 47 | 26 Nov 1989 | Casio World Open | −14 (70-70-65-69=274) | 1 stroke | Larry Mize |
| 48 | 27 May 1990 | Mitsubishi Galant Tournament | +1 (70-76-71-72=289) | 3 strokes | Masashi Ozaki, Teruo Sugihara, Tsuyoshi Yoneyama |
| 49 | 27 Oct 1991 | Bridgestone Open | −10 (71-63=134)* | 1 stroke | Tsuyoshi Yoneyama |
| 50 | 31 May 1992 | Mitsubishi Galant Tournament (2) | −11 (69-66-71-71=277) | 4 strokes | Chen Tze-chung, Saburo Fujiki |
| 51 | 29 Nov 1992 | Casio World Open (2) | −11 (76-66-64-71=277) | 4 strokes | Chen Tze-ming |
*Note: Tournament shortened to 36/63 holes due to weather. $^1$Co-sanctioned by the Asia Golf Circuit
PGA of Japan Tour playoff record (4–9)
| No. | Year | Tournament | Opponent(s) | Result |
| 1 | 1973 | Pepsi-Wilson Tournament | Kosaku Shimada | Won with birdie on sixth extra hole |
| 2 | 1973 | World Friendship | Lu Liang-Huan, Graham Marsh | Lu won with birdie on first extra hole |
| 3 | 1974 | ANA Sapporo Open | Masashi Ozaki | Lost to birdie on first extra hole |
| 4 | 1976 | Tokai Classic | Teruo Sugihara, Shigeru Uchida | Won with birdie on first extra hole |
| 5 | 1979 | Japan Open Golf Championship | Kuo Chie-Hsiung, Koichi Uehara, Yoshitaka Yamamoto | Kuo won with birdie on fourth extra hole Aoki and Uehara eliminated by birdie on first hole |
| 6 | 1981 | Shizuoka Open | Akira Yabe | Won with par on third extra hole |
| 7 | 1981 | Golf Nippon Series | Yutaka Hagawa | Lost to birdie on first extra hole |
| 8 | 1983 | Niigata Open | Hideto Shigenobu, Katsunari Takahashi | Shigenobu won with par on first extra hole |
| 9 | 1983 | Japan Open Golf Championship | Terry Gale | Won with par on second extra hole |
| 10 | 1984 | Chunichi Crowns | Scott Simpson | Lost to par on first extra hole |
| 11 | 1986 | Suntory Open | Graham Marsh | Lost to par on first extra hole |
| 12 | 1991 | Fujisankei Classic | Saburo Fujiki, Brian Jones, Hideki Kase | Fujiki won with birdie on second extra hole |
| 13 | 1991 | Dunlop Phoenix Tournament | Seve Ballesteros, Jay Don Blake, Larry Nelson | Nelson won with par on fourth extra hole Ballesteros eliminated by birdie on third hole Blake eliminated by par on first hole |

### PGA Tour of Australia wins (1)

| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | Margin of victory | Runners-up |
| 1 | 22 Jan 1989 | Coca-Cola Classic | −9 (69-73-66-71=279) | 1 stroke | Rodger Davis, Peter Fowler, Tsuneyuki Nakajima, Peter O'Malley |

### 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)

| 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 | −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 (2) | −18 (62-66-70=198) | 2 strokes | Larry Nelson |
| 9 | 19 May 2002 | Instinet Classic | −15 (69-67-65=201) | 4 strokes | John Jacobs |
*Note: Tournament shortened to 36 holes due to weather.
Senior PGA 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

## Results in major championships

| Tournament | 1974 | 1975 | 1977 | 1978 | 1979 | 1980 | 1981 | 1982 | 1983 | 1984 | 1985 | 1986 | 1987 | 1988 | 1989 | 1990 |
| Masters Tournament | CUT | CUT | T28 | CUT | T34 | CUT | T45 | CUT | 19 | T25 | T16 | CUT | CUT | T25 | | |
| U.S. Open | | | | | T36 | 2 | T11 | T30 | | T16 | | | T14 | T50 | T33 | T33 |
| The Open Championship | | | CUT | T7 | T7 | T12 | T11 | T20 | | T47 | | | | T7 | | CUT |
| PGA Championship | | | | | CUT | | T4 | T49 | CUT | CUT | | T36 | CUT | T38 | T17 | T40 |
CUT = missed the half-way cut (3rd round cut in 1977 Open Championship) "T" = tied

### Summary

| Tournament | Wins | 2nd | 3rd | Top-5 | Top-10 | Top-25 | Events | Cuts made |
| Masters Tournament | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 14 | 7 |
| U.S. Open | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 9 | 9 |
| The Open Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 7 |
| PGA Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 10 | 6 |
| Totals | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 16 | 42 | 29 |
* Most consecutive cuts made – 7 (1988 Masters – 1990 U.S. Open)
* Longest streak of top-10s – 1 (five times)

## Results in The Players Championship

| Tournament | 1982 | 1983 | 1984 | 1985 | 1986 | 1987 | 1988 | 1989 | 1990 |
| The Players Championship | CUT | T43 | T15 | T7 | CUT | T24 | T60 | CUT | CUT |
CUT = missed the halfway cut "T" indicates a tie for a place

## Results in senior major championships

Results not in chronological order before 2012.
| Tournament | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 |
| Senior PGA Championship | 3 | T5 | T5 | 2 | T20 | T44 | T15 | T62 | T20 | CUT |
| The Tradition | 6 | T9 | 2 | T12 | 2 | T13 | T28 | | T47 | T35 |
| Senior Players Championship | T5 | T3 | 6 | T30 | T2 | 3 | T14 | T18 | T17 | 21 |
| U.S. Senior Open | T20 | 10 | T3 | 11 | T49 | T4 | CUT | T47 | T2 | T18 |
| Tournament | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 |
| Senior PGA Championship | CUT | T27 | T62 | T28 | CUT | CUT | CUT | | | |
| The Tradition | T20 | T53 | T32 | T67 | T71 | | T57 | 64 | | |
| Senior Players Championship | T12 | T28 | T18 | 52 | | | | | | |
| U.S. Senior Open | T30 | | | T45 | CUT | | | | | |
| Senior British Open Championship | T14 | T22 | T36 | T60 | CUT | 50 | CUT | DQ | CUT | CUT |
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)
* Person of Cultural Merit (2024)