{{Short description|Japanese professional golfer}} {{Use dmy dates|date=July 2019}} {{Infobox golfer | name = Koichi Ono | image = | image_size = <!-- e.g. 250px (default is 200px) --> | caption = | full_name = | nickname = | birth_date = {{Birth date|1919|5|19|df=y}} | birth_place = Dalian, Manchuria | death_date = {{Death date and age|2000|11|6|1919|5|19|df=y}} | death_place = | height = <!-- X ft Y in, X cm OR X m; the template will automatically convert (otherwise {{convert}} can be used) --> | weight = <!-- X st Y lb, X lb OR X kg; the template will automatically convert (otherwise {{convert}} can be used) --> | nationality = {{JPN}} | residence = | spouse = | partner = | children = | college = | status = Professional | yearpro = <!-- Year turned professional --> | tour = <!-- Current tours which a member of --> | extour = <!-- Former tours which a member of --> | prowins = 12 | japwins = <!-- Number of Japan Golf Tour wins --> | otherwins = <!-- Number of Other wins --> | majorwins = <!-- Number of Major Championship wins --> | masters = CUT: 1958, 1963 | pga = DNP | usopen = DNP | open = DNP | wghofid = <!-- World Golf Hall of Fame member ID --> | wghofyear = <!-- World Golf Hall of Fame year inducted --> | award1 = Japan Professional Golf Hall of Fame | year1 = 2012 | award2 = <!-- Add up to 10 different awards --> | year2 = | awardssection = <!-- location of awards page or section --> | show-medals = <!-- "yes" to display, hidden by default --> | medaltemplates = <!-- for displaying golf medals won in multi-sport events --> }} {{Nihongo|'''Koichi Ono'''|小野 光一|Ono Kōichi|19 May 1919 – 6 November 2000<ref>[http://www.golfdendou.jp/commendation golfdendou.jp]</ref>}}, born '''Son Shi-Kin''' in Dalian, Manchuria (now China), was a Japanese professional golfer. He was one of the leading golfers on the Japanese circuit during the 1950s, winning the Japan Open Golf Championship three times and representing Japan on four occasions in the Canada Cup.
== Professional career == Ono won many tournaments in Japan including the Japan Open Golf Championship, the nation's most prestigious tournament, in 1951, 1953 and 1955, and the Kanto Pro Championship five times. He also won the Japan PGA Championship in 1955. Around this time in his career he became naturalized and changed his name to Koichi Ono.
Ono is best known for his performance in the 1957 Canada Cup. Ono and his playing partner Torakichi Nakamura were hosts at the event, held at Kasumigaseki Country Club in Japan. The Canada Cup, a precursor to the World Cup, featured an elite field that included Sam Snead, Gary Player, and Peter Thomson.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news |url=http://www.dailynews.com/sports/20170214/whicker-hideki-matsuyama-has-picked-up-mantel-for-japanese-players |title=Hideki Matsuyama has picked up mantel for Japanese players |date=2017-02-15 |newspaper=Daily News |first=Mark |last=Whicker |access-date=2019-07-11}}</ref> Nakamura and Ono won the event, and won easily, defeating Americans Jimmy Demaret and Snead by nine shots.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.morningread.com/features/5ae7dce6-ff07-4880-b3db-2ef1c81475f2 |title=Tokyo runs rings around Rio for golf in '20 |website=www.morningread.com |first=Dan |last=O'Neill |date=1 March 2019 |access-date=2019-07-11}}</ref> The American sportswriter Herbert Warren Wind, writing in ''Sports Illustrated'', compared it to Francis Ouimet's famous upset victory at the 1913 U.S. Open.<ref name=":0"/> The event was widely televised in Japan and helped spur a golfing boom in the country.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.kasumigasekicc.or.jp/english/history/04.html |title=The Canada Cup and the Golfing Boom in Japan |publisher=Kasumigaseki Country Club |access-date=2019-07-11}}</ref>
This good play helped Ono and Nakamura receive special foreign invitations to the 1958 Masters Tournament. They were the first non-white players to play at the Masters.
Ono continued to play well throughout the late 1950s and early 1960s, winning the Kanto Pro Championship an additional four times.
== Awards and honors == In 2012, Ono was inducted into the Japan Professional Golf Hall of Fame.
== Professional wins (12) == *1949 Kanto Pro Championship *1951 Japan Open Golf Championship *1953 Japan Open Golf Championship *1954 Yomiuri Pro Championship *1955 Japan Open Golf Championship, Japan PGA Championship *1957 Canada Cup (team event with Torakichi Nakamura), Yomiuri Pro Championship *1958 Kanto Pro Championship *1959 Kanto Pro Championship *1962 Kanto Pro Championship *1963 Kanto Pro Championship
==Team appearances== *Canada Cup (representing Japan): 1955, 1957 (winners), 1958, 1960
== References == {{Reflist}}
==External links== *[http://www.golfdendou.jp/commendation/ono Koichi Ono] at the Japan Professional Golf Hall of Fame
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Ono, Koichi}} Category:Japanese male golfers Category:Japanese expatriates in China Category:Sportspeople from Dalian Category:1919 births Category:2000 deaths Category:20th-century Japanese sportsmen