"Scottish-born professional Tom Nicoll designed and built a number of coures in California before and after spending several years in Asia. In 1917 he moved to Manila to build and operate a course there for the US government. In Manila he taught a group of Japanese golfers who persuaded him to become the professional at Komazawa GC in Tokyo. As such, he was one of, if not the first, teaching professional in Japan. He also laid out several courses in Japan was given credit for popularizing the game in the Orient."
The above is from The Architects of Golf