Yui Ueda (上田諭尉, Ueda Yui) was a Japanese professional golfer from Ōgaki in Gifu Prefecture whose career on the Japan Golf Tour was defined by one unforgettable week: a wire-to-wire victory at the 2007 Token Homemate Cup, the season-opening event, with his younger brother carrying the bag. Known as one of the longest hitters of his generation, he later qualified for the 2013 U.S. Open, became a respected teaching professional in his home prefecture and, after turning 50, competed on the Japanese senior tour right up until the weeks before his sudden death on 7 November 2026, at the age of 52.
Ueda was born on 9 March 1974 in Ōgaki. He grew up in a family that loved golf. According to his official biography, both his parents and his siblings played, and he first went to a driving range with his mother when he was in the third year of junior high school. He had also played baseball and skied, but golf took over. He practised every day at a range with an attached short course, then went on to Ogaki Nihon University High School and Senshu University in Tokyo, where he was vice captain of the golf team. In 1994, while still a student, he was the low amateur at the Chubu Open.
His road into the professional ranks was not smooth. He failed the professional test after graduating, then went to the United States for a year he had set aside for one more attempt. At his second final qualifying test he stood tied for 138th out of 142 players after the first day and was ready to give up on a playing career, but over four days he climbed 96 places to earn his card. He turned professional in October 1997 and made his tour debut at the 1998 Mizuno Open. He quickly became known as a big hitter: in 2001 he ranked second on the Japan Golf Tour in driving distance, and in 2000 he won a Japan Challenge Tour event, the third Kourakuen Cup, by four strokes.
Ueda earned his first full tour exemption in 2002 but lost it the following year. His comeback began at the 2006 Token Homemate Cup, which he entered as an alternate and finished tied for second, regaining his card. That season he also made an albatross at the KBC Augusta. A year later, in April 2007, he returned to the same tournament at Tado Country Club Nagoya in Mie Prefecture, a course where his father was a member and where Ueda said he had played more than 100 times. He shared the first-round lead, took the outright lead on day two and never gave it up. On the final day his lead shrank from three shots to one, but an eagle at the 12th hole steadied him and he finished at eight under par (66-65-74-71) to win by one stroke from Lee Dong-hwan. His younger brother caddied for him that week. At 33, in his 11th season as a professional, he described being overwhelmed by the response, joking that the flood of phone calls made him think about running for the upper house of parliament.
That victory proved to be his only regular tour win, but it began a long run of consistency. Ueda kept his tour card for seven straight seasons, from 2006 through 2012, with top finishes including fifth at the 2007 Chunichi Crowns and ninth at the 2007 Japan PGA Championship. In 2013 he came through qualifying to play the U.S. Open, his first major championship, where he missed the cut. In his forties he tried Asian Tour qualifying and kept competing, and he won regional events including the 2016 Chunichi CBC Cup Chubu Am-Pro Championship, the 2016 Gifu Open Classic and a 2021 Chunichi CBC Challenge "To The Crowns" event.
From 2021 Ueda began giving lessons in Gifu, saying he wanted to repay the people who had supported him through golf. He was attached to Sanko Golf Club Tanigumi Course, appeared in instructional videos for ALBA TV and other channels, and in 2025 became an ambassador for the putting training brand PuttOUT. After turning 50 he joined the senior tour in 2024, shooting 64 in the second round of his debut at the Komatsu Open and finishing tied for ninth. In 2026 he played nine senior events, including the Fukuoka Senior Open on 24 and 25 October, and he had entered the Japan PGA Senior Championship due to start on 12 November. He also appeared on television, including BS Fuji's "Golf Triple Match" in October 2026 and BS TV Tokyo's "Golf Samurai, Kenzan!", broadcast on 1 November 2026.
Ueda died early on the morning of 7 November 2026. Nikkan Sports reported the time of death as 7:25 a.m., and the Chunichi Shimbun reported that he collapsed while out running that morning. The cause of death was not made public. The news was announced through his own Instagram account (the same day, according to Sports Hochi), in a post that thanked his followers and apologised that the announcement was so sudden. His wake was scheduled for 9 November and his funeral for 10 November at Tsurumi Saijo in Ōgaki, with his wife, Shizuko, as chief mourner. The Japan Professional Golfers' Association published a tribute on 9 November, noting that he had entered the upcoming senior championship but "was not able to play".
From social media
4Posts by Yui, and posts about them, kept here so they are not lost.