is a U.S.-based Japanese

professional golfer A professional golfer is somebody who receives payments or financial rewards in the sport of golf that are directly related to their skill or reputation. A person who earns money by teaching or playing golf is traditionally considered a "golf pr ...

. Imada was born in

Mihara, Hiroshima is a Cities of Japan, city located in Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan. The city was founded on November 15, 1936. As of July 31, 2016, the city has an estimated population of 97,324 and a population density of 206.62 persons per km2. The total area i ...

, Japan. 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 The U.S. Amateur Public Links Championship, often referred to as the Public Links or the Publinx, was a men's amateur golf tournament, one of 10 individual amateur championships organized by the United States Golf Association. The USGA typically cal ...

. 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. 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 The BMW Charity Pro-Am is a golf tournament on the Korn Ferry Tour. It is currently played at Thornblade Club (host course) in Greer, South Carolina and The Carolina Country Club in Spartanburg, South Carolina. From 1992 to 2000, the event was pl ...

. 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 Hollidaysburg is a borough in and the county seat of Blair County in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. It is located on the Juniata River, south of Altoona and is part of the Altoona, Pennsylvania, metropolitan statistical area. In 1900, 2,998 ...

. 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 The PGA Tour (stylized in all capital letters as PGA TOUR by its officials) is the organizer of professional golf tours in the United States and North America. It organizes most of the events on the flagship annual series of tournaments also k ...

. 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 Buick () is a division (business), division of the United States, American automobile manufacturer General Motors (GM). Started by automotive pioneer David Dunbar Buick in 1899, it was among the first American Brand, marques of automobiles, and w ...

, moving him into the top 100 of the

Official World Golf Rankings The Official World Golf Ranking is a system for rating the performance level of professional golfers. It was started in 1986. The rankings are based on a player's position in individual tournaments (i.e. not pairs or team events) over a "rolli ...

. In May 2008 he won his first PGA Tour tournament at the AT&T Classic, beating

Kenny Perry James Kenneth Perry (born August 10, 1960) is an American professional golfer who currently plays on the PGA Tour Champions. He won 14 PGA Tour events and has won nine PGA Tour Champions events including four senior major championships: the 20 ...

in a playoff, and reached the top 50 of the world rankings for the first time.Week 20 – Richard Finch Wins the Irish Open and Jumps to World Number 134
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'' *1995

Porter Cup The Porter Cup is a 72-hole, medal-play elite amateur golf tournament held annually at the Niagara Falls Country Club in Lewiston, New York. It was first played in 1959 and over the years has hosted some of the biggest names in golf. Past champions ...

*1996

Azalea Invitational The Azalea Invitational is an annual amateur golf tournament. It has been played since 1946 at the Country Club of Charleston in Charleston, South Carolina. Several past champions have subsequently gained membership to the PGA Tour, including m ...

Professional wins (3)

PGA Tour wins (1)

PGA Tour playoff record (1–1)

Nationwide Tour wins (2)

Nationwide Tour playoff record (1–0)

Results in major championships

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

Results in The Players Championship

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

Results in World Golf Championships

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

Team appearances

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...

(representing Japan):

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Imada, Ryuji Japanese male golfers Georgia Bulldogs men's golfers PGA Tour golfers Korn Ferry Tour graduates Sportspeople from Hiroshima Prefecture 1976 births Living people