Ryuji Imada

Height: 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)

Weight: 150 lb (68 kg; 11 st)

Birthday: 19 October 1976

College: University of Georgia

Year turned pro: 1999

Birthplace: Mihara, Japan

Country: Japan

Sponsor: –

Born in Mihara, Hiroshima, Japan, in 1976, Imada left his home to attend a golf academy in Tampa, Florida in the United States, when he was just fourteen years old. It was at that time that he met Richard Abele, who was his tutor at this time, and still works as his coach today. Abele also became his legal guardian. Imada was extremely successful as a young amateur. This success lead to him being offered a scholarship to study at the University of Georgia. He played at the University for two years, before turning professional in 1999.

After turning professional, Imada first played on the Nationwide Tour, where he achieved several wins, before finishing in third place on the money list in 2004. This earned him his card to play on the PGA Tour. During his first year on the PGA Tour, Imada’s best result was a fifth place finish. At that year’s US Open he finished in a tie for 12th place. He performed well enough over the season to retain his card for the following year.

The following year, Imada achieved a second place finish, at the AT&T Classic. As a result of this success he won prize money of $583,200. Imada achieved another second place finish in 2008, at the Buick Invitational. This lead to him moving up into the top 100 of the World Rankings. He went on to move into the top 50, following his first win on the PGA Tour, at the AT&T Classic.

Imada did not repeat this win, and went on to split his time between playing on the Web.com Tour, the PGA Tour and the Japan Golf Tour.

As of the end of 2014, Imada had achieved one win on the PGA Tour, amassing total prize money of $9,213,424.