Ryuji Imada

　　Born October 19, 1976 in Mihara, Japan

　　Ryuji Imada came to theUS when he was 14 years old to attend a Tampa golf academy under theinstruction of Richard Abele, who became his legal guardian. He won several ofthe top tournaments on the amateur circuit and reached the finals of the 1997US Amateur Public Links. His accomplishments on the American Junior GolfAssociation Tour led to a scholarship at the University of Georgia,where he played for two years and helped the Bulldogs win the 1999 NCAA title。

　　From 2000 to 2004, Imadaplayed on the Nationwide Tour, winning the 2000 BUY.COM Virginia Beach Open andthe 2004 BMW Charity Pro-Am at The Cliffs. He earned membership on the PGA TOURin 2004.

　　In 2008 he moved into thetop 100 of the Official World Golf Rankings, and in May of that same year hewon his first PGA TOUR event, the AT&T Classic. The victory vaulted himinto the top 50 in the world。