The Yomiuri Professional Championship was a golf tournament that was held in

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

from 1952 to 1961. It was sponsored by the ''

Yomiuri Shimbun The is a Japanese newspaper published in Tokyo, Osaka, Fukuoka, Fukuoka, Fukuoka, and other major Japanese cities. It is one of the five major newspapers in Japan; the other four are ''The Asahi Shimbun'', the ''Chunichi Shimbun'', the ''Ma ...

'' newspaper. The tournament was largely restricted to the top 30 finishers of the most recent Japan Open, however sponsors invitations were occasionally given out to international stars. In 1958 Americans

Ken Venturi Kenneth Paul Venturi (May 15, 1931May 17, 2013) was an American professional golfer and golf broadcaster. In a career shortened by injuries, he won 14 events on the PGA Tour including a major, the U.S. Open in 1964. Shortly before his death in ...

and Jack Burke Jr. received invitations, with Burke going on to win the tournament. Three years later defending

Open Championship The Open Championship, often referred to as The Open or the British Open, is the oldest golf tournament in the world, and one of the most prestigious. Founded in 1860, it was originally held annually at Prestwick Golf Club in Scotland. Later th ...

winner

Arnold Palmer Arnold Daniel Palmer (September 10, 1929 – September 25, 2016) was an American professional golfer who is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most charismatic players in the sport's history. Since embarking on a professional career in ...

and defending Masters champion

Gary Player Gary James Player (born 1 November 1935) is a South African retired professional golfer who is widely considered to be one of the greatest golfers of all time. During his career, Player won nine major championships on the regular tour and nine ...

were given sponsors invites, with Player going on to win. In 1962, sponsors ended the Yomiuri Professional Championship, and founded the

Yomiuri International The Yomiuri International was a golf tournament held in Japan from 1962 to 1971. It was played at the Yomiuri Country Club in Tokyo. It was an event on the Asia Golf Circuit (formerly the Far East Circuit) every year except for 1964, and served as ...

as the Japan stop on the new Far East Circuit (later the Asian Circuit).

Winners

*1961

*1960

Tadashi Kitta was a Japanese professional golfer. Kitta played on the Japan Golf Tour, winning twice. He won a dozen tournaments in Japan prior to the formation of the Japan Golf Tour and also won the Thailand Open in 1966. Professional wins (27) PGA of ...

*1959 Yousei Shimamura *1958 Jack Burke Jr. *1957

Koichi Ono , 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 fo ...

*1956 *1955 Yoshiro Hayashi *1954

*1953

Tomoo Ishii (9 June 1923 – 24 January 2022) was a Japanese professional golfer. Professional career Ishii was born in Shizuoka Prefecture, Empire of Japan, Japan, and started playing golf at the age of 15. Ishii won a number of events on the Japanese an ...

*1952 Yoshiro Hayashi

References

{{reflist Defunct golf tournaments in Japan