Il Nuovo Postiglione - Japanese golf star 'Jumbo' Ozaki dies aged 78

Ozaki won 94 times on the Japan Tour -- his first title coming in 1973 -- and won the Order of Merit a record 12 times.

Nicknamed "Jumbo" because of his length off the tee, he was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2011 after being named on 50 percent of international ballots.

Ozaki died "due to stage 4 sigmoid colon cancer" on Tuesday, his son, Tomoharu, said Wednesday in a statement obtained by AFP.

After being diagnosed with cancer about a year ago, the golfer has been undergoing treatment at home, Tomoharu said, adding his father's funeral will be attended by close family.

Ozaki "explosively elevated the popularity of golf (in Japan) with his overwhelming driving distance and colourful personality", the Yomiuri daily said in an obituary Wednesday.

Ozaki was a member of a successful golf family, with younger brothers Naomichi (Joe) and Tateo (Jet) both among the Japan Golf Tour's top 20 all-time money winners.

In 2013, when he was 66 years old, Ozaki struck a nine-under-par 62 to to shoot his age in a domestic tour event.

"Shooting my age is not something I try to do," Ozaki said after taking the first-round lead at the Tsuruya Open.

"But if you can't shoot 6-under or 7-under par when you play good golf, you don't belong on the tour," he told reporters, according to Kyodo News.

Yutaka Morohoshi, chairman of the Japan Golf Tour Organisation, said the golf world had lost a "great".

"He long steered the men's professional golf world and overwhelmed others with his unparalleled strength," he said in a statement on the organisation's website.

D.Campanella--INP