Hideyo Sugimoto
Hideyo Sugimoto (born 16 February 1938) is a Japanese professional golfer. Early life. Sigimoto was born in the Shizuoka Prefecture of Japan in 1938. He started to play golf at the age of 17. Professional career. Sugimoto turned professional in 1959. One of his first successes was at the 1963 Yomiuri International, the final tournament of the year on the Asia Golf Circuit, where he finished runner-up to American Doug Sanders. Later in the year, in August, he recorded another runner-up performance against an international field, finishing solo second to Kel Nagle at the Lake Karrinyup  Bowl in Perth, Australia. In 1965, he won the Japan Open Golf Championship, the country's national open. As of March 1968, Sugimoto was under a one year suspension by the Japanese PGA. In 1968, Sugimoto played on the PGA Tour. He qualified for the Masters and U.S. Open and made the cut in 9 of 14 events. Unlike his performances in Asia, however, he did not record any high finishes and would not remain a member of the tour. In 1969, Sugimoto returned to Japan and had great success, winning six times in his home country and the Taiwan  Open. During the late 1960s, Australian golfer Peter Thomson considered Sugimoto and Kenji Hosoishi to be the best golfers in Japan. During this the early 1970s, he had success with fellow Japanese professional Takashi Murakami, winning three events with him. Sugimoto's first win on the Japan Golf Tour, the 1973 All Nippon Doubles, was with Murakami. Sugimoto played on tour through the decade. One of his final top performances was at the 1978 Hiroshima Open where he finished second to Masashi Ozaki in a playoff. Results in major championships. "Note: Sugimoto never played in The Open Championship or the  PGA Championship." CUT = missed the half-way cut "T" indicates a tie for a place