Kalle Samooja
| Kalle Samooja | |
|---|---|
| Personal information | |
| Born | 25 January 1988 Turku, Finland |
| Height | 180 cm (5 ft 11 in) |
| Sporting nationality |  Finland |
| Career | |
| Turned professional | 2010 |
| Current tour(s) | European Tour |
| Former tour(s) | Asian Tour |
| Professional wins | 6 |
| Number of wins by tour | |
| European Tour | 1 |
| Challenge Tour | 1 |
| Other | 4 |
| Best results in major championships | |
| Masters Tournament | DNP |
| PGA Championship | CUT: 2021 |
| U.S. Open | CUT: 2022 |
| The Open Championship | DNP |
Kalle Samooja (born 25 January 1988) is a Finnish professional golfer.[1]
Early life
Samooja was born in Turku, Finland.[1] He started playing golf when he was eight years old after being introduced to the game by his father.[1]
Professional career
Samooja competed in the European Tour Qualifying School in 2008, 2009, 2010, 2013, and 2014.[1] He did not make it onto the European Tour during any of these experiences. During this interim period he primarily played on the Asian Tour.[1] He did not have a ton of success but recorded top-10 finishes at the 2012 Handa Faldo Cambodian Classic[2] and 2015 Philippine Open.[3]
In 2016, Samooja made it on to the European Tour's developmental tour, the Challenge Tour.[1] Samooja finished 69th and 71st on the Challenge Tour's Order of Merit in 2016 and 2017.[1] In 2018, he won the Hainan Open and finished 4th on the Order of Merit earning a promotion to the European Tour.[1]
In 2019, his rookie season on the European Tour, Samooja recorded four top-25 finishes through the first half of the year including a top-10 at the Kenya Open. Samooja would then play excellently at the Omega European Masters that summer. Samooja fired a third round 62 (−8) to get near the lead. During the final round he fired a 67 to tie several players at the end of regulation.[4] The five-way playoff included: Rory McIlroy, Sebastian Söderberg, Samooja, Lorenzo Gagli, and Andrés Romero.[5] Samooja had the closest approach to the hole, to five feet. Soderberg made an eight-foot birdie putt and the other competitors missed. Samooja, putting last, would "miss narrowly" assuring Soderberg's victory.[5]
Samooja would have one more top-10 during the season, a T-10 at the Nedbank Golf Challenge.[6] These three top-10s helped him finish 62nd on the Order of Merit and thereby keep his card.[1]
In June 2022, Samooja won the Porsche European Open shooting a final-round 64 (−8) to claim his first European Tour victory.[7][8]
Professional wins (6)
European Tour wins (1)
| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | Margin of victory |
Runner-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 Jun 2022 | Porsche European Open | −6 (72-72-74-64=282) | 2 strokes |  Wil Besseling
|
European Tour playoff record (0–2)
| No. | Year | Tournament | Opponent(s) | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2019 | Omega European Masters |  Lorenzo Gagli,  Rory McIlroy, Andrés Romero,  Sebastian Söderberg
|
Söderberg won with birdie on first extra hole |
| 2 | 2020 | Aphrodite Hills Cyprus Open |  Callum Shinkwin
|
Lost to birdie on first extra hole |
Challenge Tour wins (1)
| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | Margin of victory |
Runner-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 14 Oct 2018 | Hainan Open1 | −15 (65-66-71-71=273) | 2 strokes |  Grant Forrest
|
1Co-sanctioned by the China Tour
Nordic Golf League wins (2)
| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | Margin of victory |
Runner-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 21 Sep 2008 | FGT Final | −3 (72-73-68=213) | 1 stroke | Pasi Purhonen
|
| 2 | 23 Mar 2014 | La Manga Club Championship | −12 (69-66-68=203) | 2 strokes | Jacob Glennemo
|
Finnish Tour wins (2)
| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | Margin of victory |
Runner-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 18 Jun 2016 | Audi Finnish Tour 4 | −6 (71-69-70=210) | 6 strokes | Otto Vanhatalo (a)
|
| 2 | 15 Sep 2016 | Audi Finnish Tour Final | −14 (67-71-64=202) | 5 strokes | Matti Meriläinen
|
Results in major championships
| Tournament | 2021 | 2022 |
|---|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | ||
| PGA Championship | CUT | |
| U.S. Open | CUT | |
| The Open Championship |
CUT = missed the half-way cut
Team appearances
Amateur
- Eisenhower Trophy (representing Finland): 2010
- St Andrews Trophy (representing Continent of Europe): 2010 (winners)
- European Amateur Team Championship (representing Finland): 2008, 2009, 2010
See also
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i "Kalle Samooja". European Tour. Retrieved 18 February 2020.
- ^ "Handa Faldo Cambodian Classic". Official World Golf Ranking. 18 March 2012. Retrieved 18 February 2020.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "Philippine Open presented by ICTSI". Official World Golf Ranking. 20 December 2015. Retrieved 18 February 2020.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "Leaderboard – Omega European Masters 2019". European Tour. Retrieved 18 February 2020.
- ^ a b Huggan, John. "Sebastian Soderberg beats Rory McIlroy as part of wild five-man playoff at the Omega European Masters". Golf Digest. Retrieved 18 February 2020.
- ^ "Results - Nedbank Golf Challenge hosted by Gary Player 2019". European Tour. Retrieved 18 February 2020.
- ^ "Samooja secures maiden win with course-record 64". European Tour. 5 June 2022. Retrieved 5 June 2022.
- ^ "Kalle Samooja nousi upealla tavalla voittoon Europaan-kiertueella – kenttäennätys komeasti uusiksi". MTV Uutiset (in Finnish). 5 June 2022. Retrieved 5 June 2022.
External links
- Kalle Samooja at the European Tour official site
- Kalle Samooja at the Official World Golf Ranking official site