Ryuji Imada
今田 竜二
Imada in 2022
Personal information
Born (1976-10-19) 19 October 1976
Mihara, Japan
Height5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)
Weight150 lb (68 kg; 11 st)
Sporting nationality Japan
Spouse
Shiori Imada
​
(m. 2019)​
Career
CollegeUniversity of Georgia
Turned professional1999
Current tour(s)PGA Tour
Professional wins3
Highest ranking49 (18 May 2008)[1]
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour1
Korn Ferry Tour2
Best results in major championships
Masters TournamentT20: 2009
PGA ChampionshipCUT: 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011
U.S. OpenT12: 2006
The Open Championship64th: 2009

Ryuji Imada (今田 竜二, Imada Ryūji, born 19 October 1976) is a U.S.-based Japanese professional golfer.

Biography

Imada was born in Mihara, Hiroshima. He came to the United States when he was 14 to attend a Tampa golf academy for Asian players. His instructor was (and still is) Richard Abele, who became his legal guardian. Under Abele's teaching, he won several of the top tournaments on the amateur circuit and reached the final of the 1997 U.S. Amateur Public Links. His accomplishments in the American Junior Golf Association led to a scholarship to University of Georgia, where he played for two years and helped the Bulldogs win the 1999 NCAA title.[2]

Imada turned professional in 1999. From 2000 to 2004 he played on the second tier Nationwide Tour, winning the 2000 Buy.com Virginia Beach Open and the 2004 BMW Charity Pro-Am at The Cliffs. On the Monday following his win, Imada fired a back-nine score of 29 in U.S. Open qualifying at Scotch Valley, in Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania. He was the medalist, with a score of 64, and advanced to sectional qualifying. His third-place finish on the 2004 money list earned him promotion to the PGA Tour.

In Imada's first season at the elite level, he had a best placing of fifth and earned enough money to retain his tour card for 2006. In the 2006 U.S. Open, he fired closing rounds of 69-71 to finish in a tie for 12th. His 69 in round three was one of only six under par rounds during a brutal weekend at Winged Foot.

In 2007, Imada had his best finish on the PGA Tour, finishing in 2nd place at the AT&T Classic, winning $583,200. In 2008, Imada again finished in 2nd place at the Buick Invitational, moving him into the top 100 of the Official World Golf Rankings. In May 2008 he won his first PGA Tour tournament at the AT&T Classic, beating Kenny Perry in a playoff, and reached the top 50 of the world rankings for the first time.[3]

Imada was unable to follow up his win and split his time among the PGA Tour, Web.com Tour, and Japan Golf Tour.

Amateur wins

this list may be incomplete

Professional wins (3)

PGA Tour wins (1)

No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory		 Runner-up
1 18 May 2008 AT&T Classic −15 (71-69-66-67=273) Playoff United States Kenny Perry

PGA Tour playoff record (1–1)

No.YearTournamentOpponentResult
1 2007 AT&T Classic United States Zach Johnson Lost to birdie on first extra hole
2 2008 AT&T Classic United States Kenny Perry Won with par on first extra hole

Nationwide Tour wins (2)

No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory		 Runner-up
1 21 May 2000 Buy.com Virginia Beach Open −13 (71-68-68-68=275) 5 strokes United States Todd Demsey
2 2 May 2004 BMW Charity Pro-Am −17 (70-66-65-69=270) Playoff Australia Paul Gow

Nationwide Tour playoff record (1–0)

No.YearTournamentOpponentResult
1 2004 BMW Charity Pro-Am Australia Paul Gow Won with birdie on fifth extra hole

Results in major championships

Tournament 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011
Masters Tournament T20
U.S. Open CUT T15 T12 CUT T18 CUT
The Open Championship CUT 64
PGA Championship CUT CUT CUT CUT
  Did not play

CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" = tied

Results in The Players Championship

Tournament 2006200720082009201020112012
The Players Championship CUT T68 CUT T45 T39 CUT CUT

CUT = missed the halfway cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place

Results in World Golf Championships

Tournament20082009
Match Play
Championship T34 T40
Invitational
Champions
  Did not play

"T" = Tied
Note that the HSBC Champions did not become a WGC event until 2009.

Team appearances

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Week 20 2008 Ending 18 May 2008" (pdf). OWGR. Retrieved 5 October 2019.
  2. ↑ 1999 NCAA Men's Golf Team Championship, summary posted at "1999 National Championship", georgiadogs.com, 8 September 2007
  3. ↑ Week 20 – Richard Finch Wins the Irish Open and Jumps to World Number 134 Archived 26 May 2011 at the Wayback Machine
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