Ryuji Imada was born on October 19th, 1976 in Mihara, Japan. At the age of 14 he moved to America and had a strong amateur career. He attended the University of Georgia and reached the final of the US Amateur Public Links in 1997. Two years later he turned pro.

Imada played on the Nationwide Tour between 2000 and 2004 winning two tournaments. He finished 3rd in the rankings in 04 to earn his place on the PGA Tour. Imada managed to retain his card in 2005 and his most notable finish came at Winged Foot where he finished T12 in the 2006 US Open.