| Ayako Okamoto 岡本 綾子 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Personal information | |||||||||
| Born | (1951-04-02)2 April 1951 (age 74) | ||||||||
| Height | 5 ft 5 in (1.65 m) | ||||||||
| Sporting nationality |  Japan | ||||||||
| Career | |||||||||
| Turned professional | 1975 | ||||||||
| Former tours | LPGA of Japan Tour (1975-2005) LPGA Tour (1981-1995) | ||||||||
| Professional wins | 62 | ||||||||
| Number of wins by tour | |||||||||
| LPGA Tour | 17 | ||||||||
| Ladies European Tour | 2 | ||||||||
| LPGA of Japan Tour | 44 | ||||||||
| Best results in LPGA major championships | |||||||||
| Chevron Championship | T5:1987 | ||||||||
| Women's PGA C'ship | 2nd/T2:1989,1991 | ||||||||
| U.S. Women's Open | T2:1987 | ||||||||
| du Maurier Classic | 2nd:1984,1986,1987 | ||||||||
| Achievements and awards | |||||||||
| |||||||||
Ayako Okamoto (岡本 綾子,Okamoto Ayako; born 2 April 1951) is a Japanese professionalgolfer. She won 62 tournaments internationally, including 17 on the U.S.-basedLPGA Tour. She is a member of theWorld Golf Hall of Fame.
Okamoto was born inAkitsu, Hiroshima, now part ofHigashihiroshima, 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 theLPGA 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 theJapan LPGA Championship, and in 1981 she won eight times in Japan and topped the LPGA of Japan money list.
Okamoto was a superstar in Japan, but she decided to branch out and joined the AmericanLPGA Tour in 1981. From 1982 through 1992, Okamoto won 17 times, her first coming at the 1982Arizona Copper Classic. Okamoto was a consistent winner on the LPGA Tour, claiming four wins in 1987 (plus four runners-up and 17 top-10s) and three wins each in 1984 and 1988. In 1987, she led the tour's money list and earned theLPGA Tour Player of the Year award, the first non-American to do either.
The only thing Okamoto did not do in theUnited States was win a major. She finished as runner-up six times inmajor championships. Her best opportunities came in 1986, when she lost a sudden death playoff toPat Bradley at thedu Maurier Classic and in 1987 when she lost an 18-hole playoff toLaura Davies for theU.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 theLPGA 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. Okamoto returned to Japan after 1993, where she played until 2005. In addition to her 17 LPGA wins, Okamoto also won 44 times on the LPGA of Japan Tour, and twice on theLadies European Tour. She was voted into theWorld Golf Hall of Fame on the International ballot and entered in 2005.
Note: Okamoto won the Hitachi Ladies British Open (now known as theWomen's British Open) before it became a major championship.
LPGA Tour playoff record (2–4)
| No. | Year | Tournament | Opponent(s) | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1982 | Arizona Copper Classic |  Sally Little | Won with birdie on second extra hole |
| 2 | 1983 | Rochester International |  Donna WhiteKathy Whitworth | Won with birdie on third extra hole |
| 3 | 1986 | du Maurier Classic | Pat Bradley | Lost to birdie on first extra hole |
| 4 | 1986 | Konica San Jose Classic | Amy AlcottBetsy KingPatty Sheehan | Sheehan won with birdie on first extra hole |
| 5 | 1987 | U.S. Women's Open | JoAnne Carner Laura Davies | Lost 18-hole playoff (Davies:71, Okamoto:73, Carner:74) |
| 6 | 1989 | Rochester International | Patty Sheehan | Lost to par on first extra hole |
LPGAmajors are shown inbold.
Tournament inbold denotes major championships on LPGA of Japan Tour.
| Tournament | 1982 | 1983 | 1984 | 1985 | 1986 | 1987 | 1988 | 1989 | 1990 | 1991 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kraft Nabisco Championship | ... | T40 | T64 | T34 | WD | T5 | T35 | CUT | T6 | T6 |
| LPGA Championship | T44 | T7 | T5 | T3 | T3 | T3 | 2 | T9 | T2 | |
| U.S. Women's Open | T38 | T8 | T8 | T8 | T3 | T2 | T12 | T11 | T32 | T15 |
| du Maurier Classic | T10 | 2 | T69 | 2 | 2 | T13 | T24 | T31 |
| Tournament | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kraft Nabisco Championship | T12 | 79 | T19 | T37 | T48 | 64 | CUT | T67 | |
| LPGA Championship | T15 | T37 | T28 | CUT | |||||
| U.S. Women's Open | CUT | T7 | T49 | T21 | |||||
| du Maurier Classic |
CUT = missed the half-way cut.
WD = withdrew
"T" = tied
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Academics | |
| Other | |
