Hakizimana eyes PGA Golf Tour

Rwanda’s professional golfer Jean Baptiste Hakizimana may be the best local golfer in the country but still has a long journey in his career to cover as he eyes to compete in PGA Tour.Hakizimana was born on July 19, 1990 in Gasabo District, City of Kigali to Genesta Mukanyangezi and Bernard Sekimonyo. He is the last born in a Christian family of three siblings; he has one brother and one sister.He lost his father during the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi when he was barely four years old.Hakizimana hopes to play golf at the highest possible level and conquer the region and possibly the continent.He dreams to compete in the European and PGA Tours. Next month, he will take another giant step towards realising his dream when he becomes the first Rwandan player to compete in the Asian Tour.Hakizimana attended Kagugu primary school and did his ordinary level (O’level) at Kabuga-based APERWA secondary school but after O’level, he dropped out of school in 2005 and concentrated on playing golf.Memorable tournamentAfter only one year as an amateur golfer in 2006, Hakizimana was part of Rwanda Amateurs’ golf team that travelled to Tanzania for East African Challenge golf tournament where they finished second behind Kenya.He considers the tournament as the start-mark of his career as it was the first time he had played outside the country and he is proud of the position his side attained, which has since never been matched.“Thanks to Andrew Nkwandi (then chairman of Rwanda Golf Union), who supported the team and who still plays a big role in Rwanda’s golf.” he said.That team was made up of; Hakizimana, Emmanuel Ruterana, Ernest Ndayisenga, Davis Kashaka, Olivier Munyaneza, Joseph Semwaga, Celestin Habineza and Francois Habimana.Early days of his careerLiving close to Kigali Golf Club in Nyarutarama, Hakizimana loved golf since his childhood and had a dream of growing into a professional golfer but did not know what will come of his dream.He started a caddie but in 2005, at the age of 15 years after completing his Ordinary Level studies, he started playing as an amateur golfer and turned professional in 2008. “It has been such a long journey,” he reflects.Having built a house for his mother, who single-handedly raised him, and his two siblings after the loss of their father during the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, Hakizimana says he will always be grateful to her mother because she fought hard to raise him and his siblings under difficult conditions.Career achievementsSince becoming a professional golfer in 2008, Hakizimana has been winning and featuring in various local, regional and international tournaments.In 2010, Hakizimana claimed Uganda’s MTN mug of marks Open before finishing third behind Emmanuel Ruterana and Kenya’s Simon Ngige in KCB Open in Kigali.In 2011, he won the Burundi Open and MTN Erikson Open that he retained in 2012 and this year.2013, a busy yearIt seems this has been a very busy year for Hakizimana; so far he has appeared in four different tournaments, namely; MTN Erikson Open, Burundi Open, Clean Bank Open and the just concluded KBC Kenya Open where he finished in ninth position, a competition that was won by Kenyan Brian Njoroge.From the four competitions he played, he won two of them (MTN Erikson and Clean Bank Open), and finished fourth in the Burundi Open also won by Kenya’s Nelson Mudanyi.Asian Golf TourHakizimana, who is undergoing intensive preparations ahead of his debut in this year’s Asian Golf Tour due next month in Dubai, is hoping to go as far as possible in his bid to qualify for the European Tour.He will be the first Rwandan to appear in the Asian golf Tour scheduled from September to December.