Former University of Georgia All-American Ryuji Imada finally nailed down his exempt status for next season. And it came just in time.
Imada tied for sixth last week at the Frys.com Open, his best performance of the season that pushed him up to No. 101 on the money list. That put him well within the safe zone of remaining within the PGA Tour’s top 125 who earn full exemptions.
Imada is in this week’s field at the Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open, his final tournament of the season. He will leave for Japan and China on Sunday, commitments he had already made and couldn’t break. By taking care of his exemption, he avoided becoming a long-distance scoreboard watcher.
“I was on the verge of losing my card and needed a good week to secure my card,” Imada said. “So it was a big, big thing for me. It’s nice to not have so much pressure on myself like I’ve had for the last few weeks.”
After missing the cut at Sea Island, Imada went home to Tampa and visited his longtime teacher, Richard Abele. He saw that Imada's head was moving, which reduced his accuracy. That correction, along with a week of putting on bentgrass greens at the tournament in San Jose, helped Imada perform better.
Imada suffered a rib injury this spring, which curtailed his practice time, hurt his confidence and affected his results. He missed the cut 12 times in 27 events and has won $904,169.
Colleges
Eight teams ranked in the top 25 are among the 15 teams that will compete in the fourth U.S. Collegiate Championship at The Golf Club of Georgia in Alpharetta. The 54-hole tournament, which was moved from the spring schedule to the fall, begins Sunday and concludes Tuesday on the facility’s Lakeside Course.
The field includes host Georgia Tech, ranked No. 13, and unranked Georgia State. Others include No. 1 UCLA, No. 12 Washington, No. 14 Texas A&M, No. 17 California, No. 20 Virginia, No. 22 Duke and No. 25 Wake Forest, as well as defending tournament champion Clemson, Southern Cal, South Carolina, Florida State, East Tennessee State and Kent State.
The tournament is unlike most collegiate events. Players are provided caddies and spectators are allowed to walk in the fairway alongside the competitors. This year corporate skyboxes have been added around the 18th green. The event will again be recorded and televised on Comcast.
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Wayne Huizenga, former owner of the Florida Marlins and Miami Dolphins, has purchased the Frederica Club from Wells Fargo, which obtained it from the Sea Island Company in a debt settlement in 2009. The course was designed by Tom Fazio and is the centerpiece of a 2,500-acre resort on St. Simons. Frederica is the fifth world-class golf resort property owned by Huizenga, including the Diamond Creek Golf Club of Banner Elk, N.C., in the Blue Ridge Mountains.
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