"If we recognize our talents and use them appropriately, and choose a field that uses those talents, we will rise to the top of our field,” said Ben Carson, a retired American neurosurgeon.

It is seemingly unreasonable, hilarious and difficult to ponder the idea of shunning away education at a high school level to concentrate on your preferred sport, moreover golf, which in Rwanda, is considered as a recreational sport for the rich, and not as a profession.

To put Carson’s quote in context and closer to home, Saturday Sport profiles Jules Mutesa Dusabe, Rwanda’s latest entrant into the professional ranks, after Jean Baptiste Hakizimana, Emmanuel Ruterana, Ernest Ndayisenga and Olivier Munyaneza.

Who is Dusabe?

Born on March 23, 1986 in Nyarutarama, a City of Kigali suburb to Jean Bosco Mutesa (RIP) and Vestine Musanumugisha, Dusabe is the first born in the family of four – two boys and two girls. He is the only one from his family to play golf.

The 29-year old, who says is inspired by English professional golfer Mark Adrian Ro, is married to Marie Chantal Uwizeyimana and the two are are blessed with two sons.

He started school in 1997 at Ecole Primarie Kagugu where he spent three years before joining Ecole Primaire SOS in Nyarutarama from where he completed his primary school level.

"I did not perform well in class because, occasionally, I would escape from school and spend much of my time at the club (Kigali golf club) with other kids, watching other people play,” he revealed in an exclusive interview this week.

Due to his moderate results in the national primary leaving exams, in 2004, he joined APERWA, a private secondary school in Kabuga on the outskirts of Kigali where he studied for three years before joining Groupe Scolaire Adebe to study Automobiles Mechanics.

But again, on realising that things were not going well for him, he switched to College Amis des Enfants Kinyinya in 2007 and enrolled in History-Economics-and Geography (HEG).

However, after just two terms at his new school, Dusabe made his most difficult decision to quit school and concentrate on developing his talent of playing golf.

He says, "I never saw my future in education, which is why I was moving from one school to another in the hope that things would improve, but instead I kept repeating classes sometimes, so in 2007, I decided to quit and concentrate on playing golf.”

Early days

The land where the Kigali Golf Club premises occupy originally belonged to Dusabe’s parents in early 1990s, and being born practically near the golf course, easily attracted his attention and inspired him to learn the game at an early age.

"Whenever I was on my way to school in the morning, I would bypass the golf course and see white men playing, that is how I started falling in love with the game,” he recalls.

He said that his childhood close friendship with Jean Baptiste Hakizimana, currently Rwanda’s number one, who was also a neighbour, impacted him so much on his love for golf.

He notes, "We used to collect the balls that went outside the fence of the course and fabricated a wooden golf iron which we used to play with at home.”

He recounted that, on every Monday, the golf club would allow every person to enter the golf course and would be given a chance to learn how to play, so he would come along with Hakizimana to benefit from the free lessons.

But why was Dusabe not punished for his poor grades at school or spending a lot of time at the gold club than in class?

"I lived with my grandmother since I was a kid, and to some extent, you can say, I was lucky not to be punished for performing poorly at school or being at the golf club most of the time, but if I had been living with my parents, I am sure things would have been different,” he confesses.

Playing career

In 2001, Dusabe was recruited in the golf club, by the help of Martin Rubangura, who was then the club’s caddie master, to work as a caddie, which gave have him a good platform to learn all aspects of the game for about six years.

In 2007, this time with the help of Victor Nduwumwami, the president of the Rwanda Fuel Importers Association, who paid membership fee for him, Dusabe became a full member of Kigali golf club, and immediately integrated in the national team.

A year later, the then 22-year old made his international debut in the Burundi Open and finished second before returning home to win the Rwanda Open Nett title. In 2012, he won his first Rwanda Open gross title before adding the second last year, which was also his last competition as an amateur.

At the national duty, Dusabe has been a regular after debuting at the 2007 Africa Zone VI Golf Championship that was held at Kitante golf course in Kampala, Uganda. He has been the captain for the amateurs’ national team since 2013.

"The only thing that hurts me now is that in my time with the national team we failed to win the East African Golf Challenge, but I hope I can compensate that by becoming the best in East Africa,” he vows.

Achievements

In his nine years as an amateur golfer, Dusabe won seven Rwanda Open Nett titles – 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013 and 2014, two Burundi Open gross titles (2007 and 2011), two Rwanda Open gross titles (2012 and 2015) and the 2008 Captain and President’s Cup titles.

Best and worst moments

"The best moment of my career was winning last year’s Rwanda Open because, on the final day of the tournament, I was fifth, five points behind the leader but I managed to pull down those points and won the title with two points ahead,” he says.

"The worst moment was during the 2013 Rwanda Open, I was on the verge of winning it, but while I was playing, my caddie came closer to me and the match referee thought we intended to cheat, and I was handed a two-point penalty, which helped Aphrodis (Nyirinkwaya) to win the title by a point, I’ll never forget that.”

From amateur to pro

After winning his second Rwanda Open title last year, Dusabe automatically became eligible to take a step up and join the money ranks.

Dusabe, who is mostly referred to by his family name Mutesa, made his debut as a professional on February 23 at Kitante golf club, alongside 14 Ugandans.

During the two-day event, Dusabe shot 73 on the first day and 75 the second day. "I didn’t feel any pressure before playing, instead I felt a bit confident to qualify and actually I did it tremendously well,” he told this paper.

"I was extremely happy because last year after we (Rwanda) failed to win the East Africa Golf Challenge that we had hosted, I was disappointed and decided it’s high time to give room to younger players.”

Future plans

"Now that I am a professional, the sky is the limit but I have to change everything, including the mode of training.

While I cannot say that I want to reach the level of Tiger Woods, I want to be the best that I can be and raise my name and my country’s flag at the continental level.”

Appreciation

He said, "There are a lot of people I can thank but particularly Mr. Victor Nduwumwami, he holds the backbone of my career, he sponsored everything I needed for more than four years, there is nothing I can pay him back with other than progressing and becoming the best in the region.”

"Other people I would like to mention include; Lt. Gen Caesar Kayizare, Luis Kamanzi among others, who have supported me morally and financially all these years I have been an amateur golfer.”

How others describe him

Rwanda’s number one, Hakizimana, says, "Jules is self-motivated and a hardworking player, I am sure if he maintains his form, he will achieve his targets.”

Ruterana, the first Rwandan to turn pro, describes Dusabe as one of the best golf players the country has had.

editorial@newtimes.co.rw