Japanese professional golfer
Koichi Ono (小野 光一, Ono Kōichi, 19 May 1919 – 6 November 2000[1]), born Son Shi-Kin in Dalian, Manchuria (now China), was a Japanese professional golfer. He was one of the leading golfers on the Japanese circuit during the 1950s, winning the Japan Open Golf Championship three times and representing Japan on four occasions in the Canada Cup. He was inducted into the Japan Professional Golf Hall of Fame in 2012.
Professional career
Ono won many tournaments in Japan including the Japan Open Golf Championship, the nation's most prestigious tournament, in 1951, 1953 and 1955, and the Kanto Pro Championship five times. He also won the Japan PGA Championship in 1955. Around this time in his career he became naturalized and changed his name to Koichi Ono.
Ono is best known for his performance in the 1957 Canada Cup. Ono and his playing partner Torakichi Nakamura were hosts at the event, held at Kasumigaseki Country Club in Japan. The Canada Cup, a precursor to the World Cup, featured an elite field that included Sam Snead, Gary Player, and Peter Thomson.[2] Nakamura and Ono won the event, and won easily, defeating Americans Jimmy Demaret and Snead by nine shots.[3] The American sportswriter Herbert Warren Wind, writing in Sports Illustrated, compared it to Francis Ouimet's famous upset victory at the 1913 U.S. Open.[2] The event was widely televised in Japan and helped spur a golfing boom in the country.[4]
This good play helped Ono and Nakamura receive special foreign invitations to the 1958 Masters Tournament. They were the first non-white players to play at the Masters.
Ono continued to play well throughout the late 1950s and early 1960s, winning the Kanto Pro Championship an additional four times.
Professional wins
Team appearances
References
External links
- Koichi Ono at the Japan Professional Golf Hall of Fame
