Kalle Samooja

Kalle Samooja
Personal information
Born (1988-01-25) 25 January 1988 (age 36)
Turku, Finland
Height180 cm (5 ft 11 in)
Sporting nationality Finland
Career
Turned professional2010
Current tour(s)European Tour
Former tour(s)Asian Tour
Challenge Tour
Nordic Golf League
Finnish Tour
LIV Golf
Professional wins12
Number of wins by tour
European Tour1
Challenge Tour1
Other10
Best results in major championships
Masters TournamentDNP
PGA ChampionshipCUT: 2021
U.S. OpenCUT: 2022
The Open ChampionshipCUT: 2023
Achievements and awards
Finnish Tour
Order of Merit winner		2008, 2012

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. Söderberg made an eight-foot birdie putt and the other competitors missed. Samooja, putting last, would "miss narrowly" assuring Söderberg'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]

In December 2023, Samooja entered the LIV Golf Promotions event, vying for one of three places in the 2024 LIV Golf League. He recorded rounds of 65 and 71 on the final day to top the event, successfully earning status for the 2024 season.[8]

Amateur wins

Professional wins (12)

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 Netherlands Wil Besseling

European Tour playoff record (0–2)

No. Year Tournament Opponent(s) Result
1 2019 Omega European Masters Italy Lorenzo Gagli, Northern Ireland Rory McIlroy,
Argentina Andrés Romero, Sweden Sebastian Söderberg 		Söderberg won with birdie on first extra hole
2 2020 Aphrodite Hills Cyprus Open England 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 Scotland 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
(as an amateur) 		−3 (72-73-68=213) 1 stroke Finland Pasi Purhonen
2 23 Mar 2014 La Manga Club Championship −12 (69-66-68=203) 2 strokes Sweden Jacob Glennemo

Finnish Tour wins (8)

No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory 		Runner(s)-up
1 13 Aug 2006 SM Reikäpeli
(as an amateur) 		20 holes Finland Tommy Gulin
2 29 Jul 2007 SM Reikäpeli (2)
(as an amateur) 		2 and 1 Finland Pertti Palosuo
3 4 Jun 2011 Finnish Tour Opening E (69-76-71=216) 1 stroke Finland Joonas Granberg
4 11 Jun 2011 Finnish Tour St. Laurence −9 (70-66-71=207) 1 stroke Finland Joonas Granberg
5 9 Jun 2012 Finnish Tour St. Laurence (2) −15 (65-67-69=201) 7 strokes Finland Teemu Bakker (a), Finland Ossi Mikkola
6 31 May 2013 Finnish Tour St. Laurence (3) −8 (72-67-69=208) 1 stroke Finland Jaakko Mäkitalo, Finland Lauri Ruuska (a)
7 18 Jun 2016 Audi Finnish Tour 4 −6 (71-69-70=210) 6 strokes Finland Otto Vanhatalo (a)
8 15 Sep 2016 Audi Finnish Tour Final −14 (67-71-64=202) 5 strokes Finland Matti Meriläinen

Results in major championships

Tournament 2021 2022 2023
Masters Tournament
PGA Championship CUT
U.S. Open CUT
The Open Championship CUT
  Did not play

CUT = missed the half-way cut

Team appearances

Amateur

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Kalle Samooja". European Tour. Retrieved 18 February 2020.
  2. ^ "Handa Faldo Cambodian Classic". Official World Golf Ranking. 18 March 2012. Retrieved 18 February 2020.
  3. ^ "Philippine Open presented by ICTSI". Official World Golf Ranking. 20 December 2015. Retrieved 18 February 2020.
  4. ^ "Leaderboard – Omega European Masters 2019". European Tour. Retrieved 18 February 2020.
  5. ^ 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.
  6. ^ "Results - Nedbank Golf Challenge hosted by Gary Player 2019". European Tour. Retrieved 18 February 2020.
  7. ^ "Samooja secures maiden win with course-record 64". European Tour. 5 June 2022. Retrieved 5 June 2022.
  8. ^ "Finland's Kalle Samooja among 3 players promoted to LIV Golf". ESPN. 10 December 2023. Retrieved 12 December 2023.
  9. ^ "2009 Coupe Murat". World Amateur Golf Ranking. Archived from the original on 31 May 2022. Retrieved 26 May 2022.
  10. ^ "European Boys' Team Championship – European Golf Association". Retrieved 22 January 2023.