By Travis Puterbaugh, Curator

In an era that has sometimes been referred to as its “Greatest Generation,” American golfers such as Nancy Lopez, Amy Alcott, Hollis Stacy, Pat Bradley, JoAnne Carner, Patty Sheehan, Juli Inkster, Betsy King and Beth Daniel owned the leaderboards in the 1980s, each assembling Hall of Fame resumes. Although Americans accounted for 15 consecutive Major Championship victories from 1984 – 1987, non-Americans such as Sally Little, Jan Stephenson, Laura Davies and Liselotte Neumann also made their marks on the LPGA Tour with tournament wins and Major Championships.

And then there was Ayako Okamoto of Japan, who provided consistency throughout the decade after coming to the U.S. in 1981.

Already a star on the Japan LPGA Tour upon her arrival in the U.S., Okamoto had won professionally 20 times, including the Japan LPGA Championship in 1979. As a result, when she made her debut in 1981 at the age of 30, she was hardly a typical unseasoned rookie, but felt she still had much left to accomplish as a golfer.

“I wanted a bigger world, more competition,” Okamoto said, “and I needed another challenge. I was the leading money winner in Japan and there was nothing else for me to prove.”

Okamoto made her presence immediately known by winning the Arizona Copper Classic in February 1982, with a playoff victory over Sally Little. As a rookie, she produced eight Top-10 finishes in 14 starts, earning $85,286, good for 14th on the money list in 1982.

She went on to win 16 more times as an LPGA pro with her final victory coming at the McDonald’s Championship in 1992.

Okamoto, a winner of 62 worldwide events in her career, developed a reputation as one of the best iron players and leading putters on Tour. PGA TOUR pro Jim Ferree, her partner at the Mazda Champions mixed event in 1986, described her rhythm and tempo as “flawless.”

“It helped my game just watching her play,” Ferree said.

She finished runner-up a remarkale six times in Major Championships, which included two playoff losses to Bradley at the 1986 du Maurier Classic and in a three-way playoff at the U.S. Women’s Open against Carner and the eventual winner Davies.

Incredibly, Okamoto came to golf late as she didn’t take up the game until her early 20’s. She originally made a name for herself in Japan as a star softball player, and only decided to start playing golf after finishing her softball career. Her employer in Japan, Daiwabo, owned a golf course next to her office, where she was easily able to take up the game, although the left-handed pitcher learned to play golf with right-handed clubs.

Okamoto had the year of her career in 1987, winning four times on the LPGA Tour, leading the Tour in winnings, becoming the first non-American to win the Rolex Player of the Year Award. She proved a model of consistency as in 24 starts, she made the cut 24 times and notched 17 finishes inside the Top 10, with 13 in the Top 5, and finished in the Top 10 of all four Major Championships with her lowest finish (T5) coming at the Nabisco Dinah Shore. In her victory at the Keystone Open, she rallied from eight strokes behind and posted a stunning final round 64 to earn the win. On top of that, she just narrowly missed adding the U.S. Women’s Open to her resume in that playoff loss to Davies.

In her introduction of Okamoto at her Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony in 2005, Beth Daniel said that Okamoto’s most impressive achievement was to accomplish all she did “with the weight of a nation on her shoulders.”

“The people of Japan absolutely adore Ayako,” Daniel said. “She was and is a symbol of pride and excellence to the entire country as one of the first successful golfers in the nation’s history. Every week, Ayako wasn’t placing a tee in the ground or making a birdie for herself, but for Japan.”

Just like fellow countrywoman Hisako “Chako” Higuchi before her, who won twice on the LPGA Tour including the 1977 LPGA Championship, Okamoto’s success in the U.S. opened doors for future Japanese golfers to find success on the LPGA Tour.

“There are people that play golf, and then there are people that pave the way for others,” Daniel said of Okamoto. “Ayako is one of those people that paved the way for others.”