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Golf Monthly
Golf Monthly
Sport
Ben Fleming

15 Things You Didn't Know About Ryo Hisatsune

Ryo Hisatsune of Japan looks on from the fifth tee during the first round of the Sony Open in Hawaii at Waialae Country Club.

Ryo Hisatsune is a professional golfer who competes on the PGA Tour and DP World Tour. The Japanese player enjoyed a breakout year on the DP World Tour in 2023, subsequently earning his PGA Tour card for the 2024 season.

Get to know him better with these 15 facts...

Ryo Hisatsune FACTS:

1. Ryo Hisatsune was born in Okayama, Japan on September 9, 2002.

2. He began playing golf aged just three years old when his dad began to take him to the driving range. 

3. Hisatsune is five feet nine inches tall. 

4. After a brief amateur career in Japan, Hisatsune turned professional in December 2020 aged 18.

5. The following year on the Japan Challenge Tour, he secured three wins in the space of just over four months. He went on to claim the money list title and earned his place on the Japan Golf Tour.

6. Growing up, his sporting idols were fellow Japanese golfers Ryo Ishikawa and Hideki Matsuyama.

7. He made his maiden PGA Tour appearance in October 2021 at the ZOZO Championship, finishing T52.

8. Hisatsune played the 2022 season on the Japan Golf Tour before earning his DP World Tour card through Q-School after a T7 finish in November 2022.

9. In his first DP World Tour start, he finished T2 at the Australian PGA Championship, three shots behind eventual winner Cameron Smith. 

10. Hisatsune won his first DP World Tour title at the Open de France, beating Jeff Winther and Jordan Smith by two strokes. 

11. The victory saw him become the first Japanese player to win in Continental Europe in more than 40 years.

12. After a consistent year that saw him notch up seven further top-ten finishes, he was awarded the Sir Henty Cotton Rookie of the Year award for the 2023 DP World Tour season.

Ryo Hisatsune won his maiden DP World Tour title in 2023 (Image credit: Getty Images)

13. Hisatsune beat Luvdig Aberg, Tom Kim, Dan Bradbury, Dan Brown, Daniel Hillier and Tom McKibbin to the prize, becoming the first Japanese player to win the award.

14. Having finished 17th in the 2023 Race to Dubai Rankings, he gained membership to the PGA Tour for the 2024 season.

15. Hisatsune made his debut appearance as a full PGA Tour member at the Sony Open in January 2024, finishing T30.

Ryo Hisatsune CAREER EARNINGS

Across the DP World Tour and PGA Tour, Hisatsune has earned roughly $2,450,000 in prize money. 

HOW FAR DOES Ryo Hisatsune DRIVE THE BALL?

Hisatsune is slightly above average in terms of driving distance. In 2023 on the DP World Tour, he averaged 302.41 yards off the tee which ranked him 79th on Tour.

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