Olajuwon Ajanaku
(July 19, 2012)–Olajuwon Ajanaku has seen and done a lot in his 23 years and has an enlightening history to prove it. His African name is of Nigerian origin and translates to mean, “born to be a king.” It seems to be prophetic; and upon first meeting him, one cannot help but notice a true essence of uniqueness, confidence, and individual charm. that surrounds his savvy composure.
“My dad’s family is from Ghana (West Africa) and my mom is from Houston, Texas and I was born in Fort Worth,” says Olajuwon, flashing a brilliantly white smile and without the slightest hint of a Southern, or African, accent.
He stands a strikingly handsome 6’3”, weighs 190-pounds, and currently lives in Atlanta, Georgia. He is a recent graduate from Morehouse College where he majored in accounting and played a significant role on the school’s golf team, serving as Captain during his final year.
“I was introduced to golf when I was six years old by a family friend,” says Olajuwon who stands a strikingly handsome 6’3” and weighs 190 pounds. “At the time I didn’t have an instructor, so for a long time I was just swinging out of my shoes, while trying to get the ball to go as straight as I could,” he confides. “And, getting into the game was a really big struggle for me and the best advice I ever got was from a friend who told me that, ‘If you want to learn how to hit a shot, you take a crate of balls and go learn!’”
Today, Olajuwon has a zero golf handicap and plays many of his rounds at Sugar Creek, a DeKalb County Parks and Recreation facility in Atlanta with an 18-hole championship course.
He took his game to another level and turned pro earlier this year and has been a familiar face on many of the mini-tours. His self-discipline keeps him focused and he religiously gets on the greens as much as he can saying, “I know that I must continue to compete with other golf pros in order to keep my tournament edge up.”
With the relentless pursuit of his passion to excel many may see him as a staunch overachiever, or perhaps a perfectionist? In either assumption, Olajuwon makes it clear that he takes his game very seriously.
As a devoted student, he passed the Player’s Ability Test (PAT) all four years while in college at Morehouse. “I play every day of the month if possible,” he says.
“Because it makes me think hard about the different shots that I have to hit; and these are actually shots that no one else can hit for me. It’s all on me,” continues the immaculately dressed golfer who models professionally in his spare time. “I play this game because it helps me to get away from the daily grind of life and the horrible things that are taking place throughout our world.”
“I like golf in particular, because—if you really think about it—a golf round is like a minute-and-a-half; a golf swing lasts about 2-3 seconds. It’s the other 3 hours and 57 minutes that are the most valuable. This is what I find to be intriguing.”
The year has brought tremendous new exposure for Olajuwon and his game skills continue to catch the eye of many in the field. He won the Marta Golf Club tournament Championship flight, the ATU Black Caucus tournament (68, -4), and was recognized as “Player of the Year” for his conference with a 72-stroke average.
He also won the Conference tournament to become Most Valuable Player (74,72,72). In 2011, he was a national championship DII with Morehouse College and also the H&J Junior Golf tournament. Earlier this year, he earned the distinction of being named Collegiate Golfer Of The Year by the African American Golfer’s Digest.
The latest on his ever-growing progress plan is his desire to spread his wings and score big time at several tournaments abroad.
As you can see, there’s a lot more to him than we can list in this brief profile. So keep an eye on Olajuwon, because you’re sure to see and hear plenty more good things about him.
