Rwandan golfer John-Baptiste Hakizimana scores his first APGA win

John-Baptiste Hakizimana developed a love of golf as a boy in Rwanda. After suffering enormous personal tragedy — the loss of his father and five siblings in the Rwandan genocide - he found personal peace playing golf with a tree branch and a stone.

- By LOIS ELFMAN Special to the AmNews

He ultimately learned the sport with broken clubs and by age 12 knew that golf would be his career. Three years later, he began caddying and at 19 began playing professionally.

After moving to the U.S. in 2014, his professional career stalled, and Hakizimana turned his focus to being a caddie, settling into work at the Maidstone Golf Club in East Hampton. A recurring dream in 2020 in which Tiger Woods told him to return to the game brought him back to playing. Earlier this month, he earned his first victory on the Advocates Professional Golf Association (AGPA) tour.