Ayako_Okamoto Knowpia

Ayako Okamoto
岡本綾子
Ayako Okamoto; 岡本綾子
Personal information
Born	2 April 1951 (age 73); Akitsu, Hiroshima
Height	5 ft 5 in (1.65 m)
Sporting nationality	Japan
Career
Turned professional	1975
Former tour(s)	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
World Golf Hall of Fame
World Golf Hall of Fame	2005 (member page)
LPGA of Japan Tour; leading money winner	1981
LPGA Tour; leading money winner	1987
LPGA Tour; Player of the Year	1987

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 U.S.-based LPGA Tour. She is a member of the World Golf Hall of Fame.

Early career edit

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 edit

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 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 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. 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 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) edit

LPGA Tour wins (17) edit

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning score	Margin of victory	Runner(s)-up
1	28 Feb 1982	Arizona Copper Classic	−7 (70-72-70-69=281)	Playoff	Sally Little
2	26 Jun 1983	Rochester International	−6 (68-71-67-76=282)	Playoff	Donna White Kathy Whitworth
3	15 Apr 1984	J&B Scotch Pro-Am	−14 (70-67-71-67=275)	5 strokes	Donna White
4	17 Jun 1984	Mayflower Classic	−7 (73-67-71-70=281)	2 strokes	Judy Dickinson Donna White
5	6 Oct 1984	Hitachi Ladies British Open	−3 (71-71-70-77=289)	11 strokes	Betsy King Dale Reid
6	2 Feb 1986	Elizabeth Arden Classic	−8 (69-67-73-71=280)	1 stroke	Muffin Spencer-Devlin
7	7 Sep 1986	Cellular One-Ping Golf Championship	−9 (70-71-66=207)	6 strokes	Nancy Lopez Colleen Walker
8	12 Apr 1987	Kyocera Inamori Golf Classic	−13 (66-70-69-70=275)	1 stroke	Betsy King
9	17 May 1987	Chrysler-Plymouth Classic	−4 (70-74-71=215)	2 strokes	Jane Geddes Colleen Walker
10	21 Jun 1987	Lady Keystone Open	−8 (70-74-64=208)	1 stroke	Laurie Rinker
11	30 Aug 1987	Nestle World Championship	−6 (70-68-73-71=282)	1 stroke	Betsy King
12	27 Feb 1988	Orient Leasing Hawaiian Ladies Open	−3 (69-72-72=213)	1 stroke	JoAnne Carner Deb Richard
13	10 Apr 1988	San Diego Inamori Golf Classic	−12 (69-71-63-69=272)	1 stroke	Colleen Walker
14	31 Jul 1988	Greater Washington Open	−7 (69-70-67=206)	1 stroke	Connie Chillemi Beth Daniel
15	28 May 1989	LPGA Corning Classic	−12 (69-66-67-70=272)	6 strokes	Beth Daniel
16	6 May 1990	Sara Lee Classic	−6 (71-71-68=210)	1 stroke	Pat Bradley JoAnne Carner Dawn Coe Betsy King Colleen Walker
17	7 Jun 1992	McDonald's Championship	−8 (67-69-69=205)	3 strokes	Pat Bradley Brandie Burton Deb Richard

Note: Okamoto won the Hitachi Ladies British Open (now known as the Women'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 White Kathy 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 Alcott Betsy King Patty 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

LPGA majors are shown in bold.

LPGA of Japan Tour wins (44) edit

1975 (1) Mizuno Golf
1976 (1) All-Star
1977 (4) World Ladies, 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 Cyuoh 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 Open, 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 (2) edit

1984 (1) Hitachi Ladies British Open (co-sanctioned by the LPGA Tour)
1990 (1) Lufthansa Ladies' German Open

Results in LPGA Majors edit

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