Ryuichi Oda is a Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

ese professional golfer

Professional golfer

In golf the distinction between amateurs and professionals is rigorously maintained. An amateur who breaches the rules of amateur status may lose his or her amateur status. A golfer who has lost his or her amateur status may not play in amateur competitions until amateur status has been reinstated;...

 who currently competes on the Japan Golf Tour

Japan Golf Tour

The Japan Golf Tour is a prominent golf tour. It was founded in 1973 and as of 2006 it offers the third highest annual prize fund out of the regular men's professional tours after the PGA Tour and the European Tour. However since the early 1990s, the growth in prize money has not kept pace with...

.

Oda was born in Kagoshima Prefecture

Kagoshima Prefecture

is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyushu. The capital is the city of Kagoshima.- Geography :Kagoshima Prefecture is located at the southwest tip of Kyushu and includes a chain of islands stretching further to the southwest for a few hundred kilometers...

. He spent much of his amateur career developing his skills at the Kagoshima Country Club. He competed in two Japan Golf Tour events in 2002 (Token Corporation Cup and Tsuruya Open

Tsuruya Open

The is a golf tournament on the Japan Golf Tour. It has been played annually since 1994. The tournament's to-par record is -17 set by Katsumasa Miyamoto in 1998. The aggregate record is 268 set by Brendan Jones in 2007. The course measures 6,770 yards and the par is 71...

) and despite missing the cut on both occasions, became a professional in time for the Fujisankei Classic

Fujisankei Classic

The is an annual golf event on the Japan Golf Tour. It was first played in 1973 on the Takasaka Country Club - Yoneyama Course. The tournament moved to the Higashi-Matsuyama Golf Club in 1979 and to the Kawana Hotel's Fuji course in 1981. The tournament has been held at the Fujizakura Country Club...

 where he once again failed to get past the second day. It was not until the Diamond Cup Tournament before he made his first cut, finishing T55.

It was not until the 2009 Japan Open Golf Championship

Japan Open Golf Championship

The is Japan's national open golf championship. As of 2011, it is one of the three richest tournaments on the Japan Golf Tour, with a prize fund of ¥200 million...

 that Oda shot to fame. He only just avoided being cut after two rounds and by round three was tied for 5th place. He went on to beat Ryo Ishikawa

Ryo Ishikawa

, also known by the nickname "Hanikami Ōji" , is a Japanese professional golfer.On 20 May 2007, Ishikawa became the youngest winner ever of a men's regular tournament on the Japan Golf Tour by winning the Munsingwear Open KSB Cup at the age 15 years and 8 months. He competed as an amateur and it...

 and Yasuharu Imano

Yasuharu Imano

Yasuharu Imano is a Japanese professional golfer.Imano was born in Gifu Prefecture. He currently plays on the Japan Golf Tour where he has won seven times between 1999 and 2009.-Japan Golf Tour wins :*1999 The Crowns...

 in a three-man playoff

Results in major championships

Tournament	2010
The Masters	DNP
U.S. Open U.S. Open (golf) The United States Open Championship, commonly known as the U.S. Open, is the annual open golf tournament of the United States. It is the second of the four major championships in golf, and is on the official schedule of both the PGA Tour and the European Tour...	DNP
The Open Championship The Open Championship The Open Championship, or simply The Open , is the oldest of the four major championships in professional golf. It is the only "major" held outside the USA and is administered by The R&A, which is the governing body of golf outside the USA and Mexico...	CUT
PGA Championship PGA Championship The PGA Championship is an annual golf tournament conducted by the PGA of America as part of the PGA Tour. It is one of the four major championships in men's professional golf, and is the golf season's final major, usually played in mid-August, customarily four weeks after The Open Championship...	DNP

DNP = Did not play

CUT = missed the half-way cut

"T" indicates a tie for a place

Green background for wins. Yellow background for top-10

External links