Ryo Hisatsune’s game has only improved over the years. At the 2026 WM Phoenix Open, when his idol Hideki Matsuyama failed to secure a playoff win, he stood at T10. And now, he is right at the top of the leaderboard after the first round at the 2026 AT&T Pebble Beach Golf Links. As his name keeps appearing on leaderboards, questions about his upbringing and ethnicity surface often.

With a calm presence, a disciplined game, and a career that has moved quickly from local tours to global stages, fans are curious about the cultural and national background that shaped him.

What is Ryo Hisatsune’s ethnicity?

Ryo Hisatsune is a Japanese golfer. However, there’s no public information on which specific religion he follows.

The DP World Tour winner was born and brought up in Okayama, Japan, on September 9th, 2002. Like many golfers who start at a young age, Hisatsune’s golfing journey started when he was just 3 years old. His dad started taking him to the driving range at 3, and he fell in love with the sport.

He even praises his Japanese roots and how golfers from his home country helped him improve. Thanks to the golfers at the driving range his dad used to take him, Hisatsune was able to set a clear goal of making golf his career.

News served to you like never before!

Prefer us on Google, To get latest news on feed

Prefer Us on Google

Coming from the same country as Hideki Matsuyama, the 11x PGA Tour winner is his childhood idol.

“I want to follow in the footsteps of Hideki [Matsuyama] and become a player who can win major championships… I remember watching Hideki play on the PGA Tour and I’ve always wanted to play on the PGA Tour too,” the 23-year-old said.

Ryo Hisatsune’s golf career

The 23-year-old golfer represented his country at the 2018 Youth Olympics before turning professional in December 2020. Within a year, he won three events on the Japan Challenge Tour in 2021. This helped him top the money list and secure his spot on the Japan Golf Tour.

Hisatsune earned the DP World Tour card by finishing at T7 in Q-School in November 2022. That’s when his career started taking shape. Right in his first DP World Tour start, he secured a T2 at the 2023 Australian PGA Championship and then won the 2023 Open de France.

Thanks to that win, he became the first Japanese golfer to win on the European Tour in more than 40 years. He even became the first Japanese golfer to ever win the Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year Award in 2023.

While Ryo Hisatsune is a Japanese golfer and earned his DP World Tour card first, his PGA Tour debut occurred before he started playing on the European Tour. He played in his first PGA Tour event at the 2021 Zozo Championship, and he played it again in 2022 and 2023. Then he earned full exempt status for the PGA Tour from the 2024 season. Since then, he has played in 66 events on the PGA Tour and made the cut in 45 of them. Although he hasn’t win any event, he has 19 top 25 finishes to his credit.

Ryo Hisatsune’s rise continues to reflect the values, discipline, and competitive foundation shaped by his Japanese upbringing. As his presence on global leaderboards grows stronger, so does the interest in the background that helped mold one of golf’s most promising young talents.