Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Japanese legend Aoki debuts in Las Vegas

He wanted to look at the course but not play it, wanted to see what was in store this week without testing himself on it.

A quick drive around the TPC at Summerlin on Monday was sufficient for Isao Aoki, who is making his Las Vegas debut this week at the $1 million Las Vegas Senior Classic.

Coming off a second-place finish in Sunday's PGA Seniors' Championship in Palm Beach, Fla., Aoki toured the TPC layout without taking his clubs. He had lunch, grabbed a golf cart and went out with his wife Chie to examine a course he had never seen.

"It doesn't matter," he said, with Chie serving as interpreter, when asked if he would be at a disadvantage this week in that he's unfamiliar with the TPC's intricacies. "After all these years, I'm used to having to play courses I haven't had a chance to learn."

Legendary in his home country of Japan, Aoki is in the midst of another great season on the Senior Tour. The $105,000 he won Sunday for finishing second to Hale Irwin boosted him into the top 10 with $246,168 in 1996 earnings. He's also among the top 10 in a number of statistical categories, including driving accuracy (No. 1), birdies (No. 4), greens in regulation (No. 5) and scoring (No. 5).

He is clearly one of the finest 50-and-over players in the world and a threat to win in Las Vegas despite his novice standing at Summerlin.

"This is a new tournament for me, but that's not hard," he said. "I like to play golf, no matter where it is."

Obviously his game is in great shape, as exemplified by his rounds of 69, 71, 71, 71 in Palm Beach as he finished two strokes behind Irwin.

"I'm feeling good," Aoki said. "I'm playing to win. But I play to win not just this week, but every week."

If Irwin hadn't been invincible Sunday, Aoki could have had his first Senior Tour major. Playing in the final threesome, Aoki birdied the first hole to pull within a stroke of Irwin, but that was as close as he -- or anyone -- would get to the Senior Tour's hottest player. Aoki did eagle No. 10, but Irwin birdied to stay two up. At No. 11, Aoki's charge stalled and his chance of winning all but disappeared when he topped a 3-iron off the tee and took a bogey to fall three behind the eventual winner.

"I tried hard to win that tournament," Aoki said. "If I can play like that again this week, that would be fine."

Having Aoki in the Las Vegas field is a plus for the event, tournament manager Charlie Baron said, calling Aoki "a very nice addition for us."

The reason Aoki hasn't played in previous Las Vegas tournaments has to do with scheduling and obligations in his homeland. In recent years, he said, the Las Vegas Senior Classic dates fell at a time when he had to play in Japan.

Aoki has always played well in the U.S. and has been a progressively strong player on the Senior Tour. Since turning 50 in 1992 and playing seven Senior events, he has moved up the yearly money list from No. 26 to No. 15 to No. 13 to last year's high-water mark of No. 5. He pocketed $1,041,766 in 1995, with an incredible 17 top-10 finishes in 23 starts.

He's so steady, he came into this season with 45 top-10 finishes in 75 career events on the Senior Tour. He has four victories, including the Bank of Boston Classic last year.

In 10 years on the PGA Tour, Aoki earned $891,471 and won the 1983 Hawaiian Open with a still-famous wedge shot on the 72nd hole. He holed it from 128 yards out, which allowed him to leapfrog past Jack Renner and claim the championship.

Worldwide, Aoki has won 64 times, making him the greatest player ever from Japan.

With those kind of credentials and coming off a brilliant weekend in Florida, he could afford to have his first look at Summerlin be a relaxing one.

Senior notes

Due to a rib injury, 67-year-old Don January was forced to withdraw from the tournament on Monday. He was replaced by Lou Graham. ... More than half of the Las Vegas Senior Classic field will be in town by today to participate in a private outing at Shadow Creek. ... Wednesday's highlight will be the GrandMasters Pro-Am tournament at the Desert Inn Country Club. Eleven players -- each at least 60 years old -- will participate, including Bob Charles, John Paul Cain, Miller Barber, Bruce Crampton, Dale Douglass, Gene Littler, Orville Moody, Harold Henning, Billy Casper, Bobby Nichols and Jimmy Powell. Play at the D.I. begins at 9 a.m. The GrandMasters competition extends into the formal Senior Classic which begins Friday, with the 60-and-over players vying for an extra $120,000 in prize money. ... Also Wednesday, Ray Floyd will tour the under-construction TPC at The Canyons layout that is being built in Summerlin. Floyd is involved in the course design. ... Two-time tour money leader Dave Stockton skipped last week's major in Florida but he's playing in Las Vegas. Stockton bypassed the Seniors' Championship because he was moving. ... Also making it to Las Vegas despite a minor injury (left knee) and assorted other ailments is Lee Trevino. In Florida, however, he was sounding as if he was near the end of his golf career. "This has got to end sometime," he told USA Today. "You can't do this all your life. Who knows? Maybe it's time to look for another job." Despite his complaint, Trevino tied for 22nd in Florida and kept his position in the top-10 money winners for the season by adding $11,500 to a total that is now $189,597.

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