- Ayako Okamoto
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Ayako Okamoto
岡本 綾子Personal information Born 2 April 1951
Akitsu, HiroshimaHeight 5 ft 5 in (1.65 m) Nationality 
JapanCareer Turned professional 1975 Former tour(s) JLPGA (1975-2005)
LPGA Tour (1981-1995)Professional wins 62 Number of wins by tour LPGA Tour 17 Ladies European Tour 1 LPGA of Japan Tour 44 Best results in LPGA Major Championships Kraft Nabisco C'ship T5: 1987 LPGA Championship 2nd/T2: 1989, 1991 U.S. Women's Open T2: 1987 du Maurier Classic 2nd: 1984, 1986, 1987 Achievements and awards World Golf Hall of Fame 2005 (member page) LPGA of Japan Tour
leading money winner1981 LPGA Tour
leading money winner1987 LPGA Tour
Player of the Year1987 Ayako Okamoto (岡本 綾子 Okamoto Ayako, born 2 April 1951) is a Japanese professional golfer. She won 62 tournaments internationally, including 17 on the American LPGA Tour. She is a member of the World Golf Hall of Fame.
Contents
Early career
Okamoto was born in Akitsu, Hiroshima now part of Higashihiroshima, Hiroshima, Japan. In her youth and early 20s, she was a softball player. She was the star pitcher on the Japanese national champion in 1971. Her club team was owned by the textile company Daiwabo, where Okamoto worked. The company owned a golf facility next door, and when she was 22, Okamoto finally decided to start playing. Although she pitched left-handed, she learned golf right-handed. She would join the LPGA of Japan Tour in 1973. Just three years later, at age 25, she won the Mizuno Corporation Tournament. In 1979, at age 28, Okamoto won the Japan LPGA Championship, and in 1981 she won eight times in Japan and topped the LPGA of Japan money list.
LPGA career
Okamoto was a superstar in Japan, but she decided to branch out and joined the American LPGA Tour in 1981. From 1982 through 1992, Okamoto won 17 times, her first coming at the 1982 Arizona Copper Classic. Okamoto was a consistent winner on the LPGA Tour, claiming four wins in 1987 (plus four runner-ups and 17 top-10s) and three wins each in 1984 and 1988. In 1987, she led the tour's money list and earned the LPGA Tour Player of the Year award, the first non-American to do either.
The only thing Okamoto did not do in the United States was win a major. She finished as runner-up six times in major championships. Her best opportunities came in 1986, when she lost a sudden death playoff to Pat Bradley at the du Maurier Classic and in 1987 when she lost an 18-hole playoff to Laura Davies for the U.S. Women's Open crown (JoAnne Carner was also in the playoff). She was in the top-10 at the Open every year from 1983 to 1987, and in the top-10 at the LPGA Championship every year from 1984 to 1991.
Okamoto's last LPGA victory was in 1992, and 1993 was her last year to play a full or half schedule in the U.S. After 1993, Okamoto returned to Japan, where she played until 2005. In addition to her 17 LPGA wins, Okamoto also won 44 times on the LPGA of Japan Tour and once on the Ladies European Tour. She was voted into the World Golf Hall of Fame on the International ballot and entered in 2005.
Professional wins (62)
LPGA Tour wins (17)
- 1982 (1) Arizona Copper Classic
- 1983 (1) Rochester International
- 1984 (3) J&B Scotch Pro-Am, Mayflower Classic, Hitachi Ladies British Open
- 1986 (2) Elizabeth Arden Classic, Cellular One-Ping Golf Championship
- 1987 (4) Kyocera Inamori Golf Classic, Chrysler-Plymouth Classic, Lady Keystone Open, Nestle World Championship
- 1988 (3) Orient Leasing Hawaiian Ladies Open, San Diego Inamori Golf Classic, Greater Washington Open
- 1989 (1) LPGA Corning Classic
- 1990 (1) Sara Lee Classic
- 1992 (1) McDonald's Championship
- Note: Okamoto won the Hitachi Ladies British Open (now known as the Women's British Open) before it became a major championship.
LPGA of Japan Tour wins (44)
- 1975 (1) Mizuno Corporation Tournament
- 1976 (1) All-Star
- 1977 (4) World Ladies Golf Tournament, Tohoku Queens, Asahi Toys, Japan Ladies Professional East vs. West
- 1978 (1) KTV Ladies Classic
- 1979 (2) Japan LPGA Championship, Tokai Classic
- 1980 (3) Kumamoto Chuo Ladies, Hokuriku Queens, Saikai National Park Ladies Open
- 1981 (8) Sanin Ladies Golf, KBS Ladies, Fuji Ladies Classic, Hokuriku Queens, Stanley Ladies, Japan Ladies Professional East vs West, Miyagi TV Women's Open, Sanyo Queens
- 1982 (4) Tohato Ladies, Dunlop Ladies, Japan LPGA Championship, Tokai Classic
- 1983 (1) Sanyo Queens
- 1984 (1) Tsumura Itsuki Classic
- 1986 (1) Nichirei Ladies Cup
- 1987 (1) Konica Cup
- 1989 (2) Tokai Classic, Itoki Classic
- 1990 (1) Japan LPGA Championship
- 1991 (3) Yamaha Cup Ladies, Karuizawa 72 Tokyu Ladies, Kosaido Asahi Cup
- 1992 (2) Tohato Ladies, Fujisankei Ladies Classic
- 1993 (2) Japan Women's Open Golf Championship, Itoen Ladies
- 1994 (3) Tohato Ladies, Itoki Classic, Kosaido Asahi Cup
- 1996 (1) Fujisankei Ladies Classic
- 1997 (1) Japan Women's Open Golf Championship
- 1999 (1) Katokichi Queens
Tournament in bold denotes major championships on LPGA of Japan Tour.
Ladies European Tour wins (1)
- 1990 (1) Lufthansa Ladies German Open
Results in LPGA Majors
Tournament 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 Kraft Nabisco Championship ... T40 T64 T34 WD T5 T35 CUT T6 LPGA Championship DNP T44 T7 T5 T3 T3 T3 2 T9 U.S. Women's Open T38 T8 T8 T8 T3 T2 T12 T11 T32 du Maurier Classic DNP T10 2 T69 2 2 T13 T24 T31 Tournament 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 Kraft Nabisco Championship T6 T12 79 T19 T37 T48 64 DNP CUT T67 LPGA Championship T2 T15 T37 T28 CUT DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP U.S. Women's Open T15 CUT T7 T49 T21 DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP du Maurier Classic DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP = did not play.
CUT = missed the half-way cut.
"T" = tied
WD = withdrew
Yellow background for a top-10 finish.See also
- Golfers with most LPGA Tour wins
- Okamoto Ayako to Match Play Golf - Super Famicom video game
External links
- Official website (Japanese)
- Ayako Okamoto at the LPGA Tour official site
- Ayako Okamoto at the LPGA of Japan Tour official site (Japanese)
- Ayako Okamoto bio at about.com
Preceded by
Hiromitsu OchiaiJapan Professional Sports Grand Prize Winner
1987Succeeded by
Chiyonofuji MitsuguCategories:- Japanese golfers
- Female golfers
- LPGA Tour golfers
- LPGA of Japan Tour golfers
- World Golf Hall of Fame inductees
- People from Hiroshima Prefecture
- 1951 births
- Living people
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