advertisement

RYUJI IMADA

JAPAN

Height:

5 ft, 8 in

Weight:

150 lbs

Birthday:

10/19/1976

Follow Me:

Web Site
College:University of Georgia
Turned Pro:1999
Birthplace:Hiroshima, Japan
Residence:Tampa, FL

PGA TOUR - Media Guide

PGA TOUR VICTORIES (1)
2008  AT&T Classic. 
Nationwide Tour VICTORIES (2)
2000  BUY.COM Virginia Beach Open.  2004  BMW Charity Pro-Am at the Cliffs. 
Current Year PGA TOUR Money and Position (201)
$51,387
Current Year PGA TOUR Best Round
67 at Round 1, AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am. 67 at Round 1, HP Byron Nelson Championship.
Best PGA TOUR Finishes
1-- AT&T Classic.
Best Nationwide Tour Finishes
1-- BUY.COM Virginia Beach Open, BMW Charity Pro-Am at the Cliffs.
2011 Best PGA TOUR Finishes
T3-- HP Byron Nelson Championship, FedEx St. Jude Classic.
2011 Season PGA TOUR
Tournaments Entered--29; in money--14; Top 10 finishes--2
Career Highlights

2011: At No. 90, finished inside the top 100 in the FedExCup standings for the fifth consecutive season.

Finished T3 at the HP Byron Nelson Championship for his best TOUR performance since he won the 2008 AT&T Classic outside Atlanta in a playoff. Held a two-shot lead on the back nine Sunday but bogeyed No. 15, then three-putted the par-3 17th hole for bogey. He followed that with a final bogey at the par-4 18th, where his approach found the front bunker. Failed to get up and down, missing his par putt from 20 feet, 3 inches to end up one stroke shy of a Keegan Bradley-Ryan Palmer playoff.

Posted second T3 in three weeks, at the FedEx St. Jude Classic, on the strength of a final-round 66 to finish 8-under. Collected first top 10 in Memphis in his fourth-career start. 2010: After failing to record a top 10 in 2009, bounced back with four top 10s a year later. At the Farmers Insurance Open, shared the second-round lead and held the outright third-round lead by two strokes after opening 65-68-70. Final-round 75 dropped him to a T9 finish.

Finished T7 at the Arnold Palmer Invitational. Opened with a 73, but battled back on the weekend with rounds of 69-70 for second top-10 of the season.

Opened with a 6-under 65 at the Frys.com Open en route to T6.

One week later, used a second-round, 9-under 62 to jump into contention at the Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open. Finished T8, three strokes out of a three-way playoff. Recorded back-to-back, top-10 finishes for the first time since 2008 (Northern Trust Open and PODS Championship). His 36-hole total of 130 at the Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open is two shots better than his previous best on TOUR.

Came up short in his attempt to win his first Japan Golf Tour title, settling for a T3 at the Mitsui Sumitomo Visa Taiheiyo Masters in mid-November. He finished four strokes behind winner Ryo Ishikawa. 2009: Finished 118th on the money list, but failed to record a top-10 finish for the first time in his PGA TOUR career.

Recorded seven top-25 finishes including a T20 in his first start at the Masters Tournament.

Best finish of the season was T14 at the Memorial Tournament.

Represented Japan in the OMEGA Mission Hills World Cup in November, teaming with Hiroyuki Fujita. 2008: Had the best year of his career, with his first victory at the AT&T Classic, two runner-up finishes and approximately $3 million in earnings. Finished 25th in the FedExCup standings.

Recorded second runner-up finish of his career, placing eight strokes behind Tiger Woods at the Buick Invitational in January. Final-round 67 tied for low round of the day.

Three weeks later, recorded his next top-five finish with a T5 at the Northern Trust Open, closing with a 68. Top-five finish came after two previous missed cuts and a T65 in 2007 at Riviera CC.

Also closed with a 68 at the PODS Championship to finish runner-up by two strokes to Sean O'Hair.

Beat Kenny Perry in a playoff at the AT&T Classic after losing the same Atlanta tournament to Zach Johnson a year prior on the first playoff hole. Finished regulation at 15-under 273 to force a playoff. On the first playoff hole, the par-5 18th, Perry's second shot bounced off a tree behind the green and into a pond guarding the front of the green. Imada, who had driven into the rough, played it safe by laying up with an iron and wound up two-putting for the winning par as Perry made bogey.

Competed in all four PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup events with his best finish a T13 at the Deutsche Bank Championship. 2007: Had a runner-up finish and more than $1.4 million in earnings to finish 65th on the money list.

Former University of Georgia star finished second to Zach Johnson at the AT&T Classic. Converted up-and-down birdie from behind the 72nd green to force a playoff, finishing at 15-under par. Shared the 36- and 54-hole leads with Troy Matteson. Tee shot on first extra hole went into first cut of rough, and 225-yard second shot to par-5 18th hole found the water hazard fronting the green. Johnson converted a two-putt birdie to clinch the victory. Earned $583,000 in second consecutive top-10 at TPC Sugarloaf. 2006: In second season on TOUR, posted 10 top-25s, including one top-10, and finished in the top 100 for the first time.

Finished T10 at the BellSouth Classic with four rounds at par or better for only top-10 of season.

Matched career-low round with a 64 during the second round of the Booz Allen Classic. 2005: Finished 121st on TOUR money list in his rookie season.

With rounds of 66-67 on the weekend, finished fifth at Booz Allen Classic for first career top-10. 2004: Earned initial TOUR card for 2005 by finishing third on Nationwide Tour money list. Member of that circuit for past five years and finished in the top 40 on money list four times. Had his best season and was one of five players on Tour to surpass the $300,000 plateau with $313,185. Career-high seven top-10s, included his second career victory at the BMW Charity Pro-Am at The Cliffs. Birdied the fifth playoff hole to defeat Paul Gow. Finished inside top-5 four other times.

Led the Tour in Scrambling and finished fourth in Scoring Average. 2003: Finished the Nationwide Tour season No. 37 on the money list, with $127,861 and a season-best third at the Northeast Pennsylvania Classic. 2002: Had a down season, finishing 105th on the Nationwide Tour money list after making the cut in eight of 20 tournaments. 2001: Had two runner-up finishes. Posted a tournament-record 64 in the second round of the Carolina Classic and fired final-round 69 to finish two strokes behind John Maginnes.

Held a three-stroke lead heading into the final round of the Greater Cleveland Open but managed just an even-par 72 and wound up second, one stroke behind Heath Slocum. 2000: Enjoyed solid rookie season on the Nationwide Tour, making the cut in 12 of 25 events.

Shared second-round lead with Mike Heinen and David Berganio, Jr. at the Virginia Beach Open and trailed Todd Demsey by one after 54 holes. Defeated Demsey by five strokes to become first rookie winner of season.

Final-round 76 at the 2000 PGA TOUR Qualifying Tournament left him three strokes short of earning his TOUR card. Amateur: Left University of Georgia after his sophomore season.

First-team All-SEC as a freshman in 1998 and sophomore in 1999.

Helped lead the Bulldogs to their first national championship and finished runner-up to Luke Donald in the individual competition in 1999 when he was a first-team All-American. Won first collegiate title at Williams Intercollegiate in 1999. Had seven top-10 finishes during the 1998-99 collegiate season.

Appeared as high as second in Golfweek/Titleist Men's Amateur Rankings.

Reached match-play stage of 1998 U.S. Amateur but lost in first round.

Won six tournaments on major amateur circuit—1995 Porter Cup, 1996 Azalea Amateur, Dixie Amateur and Lakewood Invitational, 1997 Palatka Azalea Amateur and Southeastern Invitational. Finalist at 1997 U.S. Public Links.

Excelled on junior level by twice being named to the AJGA All-American first team. 1995 Rolex Junior Player of the Year.
Personal
At age 7, tagged along with older brother Takafumi to golf course. At age 14, moved from native Japan and family to a Tampa, FL, golf academy to compete on junior golf circuit. Did not know any English at the time.
PGA TOURPlayoff Record
1-1
Nationwide TourPlayoff Record
1-0
National Teams
World Cup (2), 2008, 2009.
© 1995-2012 PGA TOUR, Inc. | Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. All Rights Reserved. PGA TOUR, Champions Tour, Nationwide Tour and the swinging golfer logo are registered trademarks.
Turner PGATOUR.com is part of Turner - SI Digital, part of the Turner Sports & Entertainment Digital Network