Kalle Samooja (born 25 January 1988) is a Finnish

professional golfer A professional golfer is somebody who receives payments or financial rewards in the sport of golf that are directly related to their skill or reputation. A person who earns money by teaching or playing golf is traditionally considered a "golf pr ...

Early life

Samooja was born in

Turku, Finland Turku ( ; ; sv, Åbo, ) is a city and former capital on the southwest coast of Finland at the mouth of the Aura River, in the region of Finland Proper (''Varsinais-Suomi'') and the former Turku and Pori Province (''Turun ja Porin lääni''; 16 ...

. He started playing golf when he was eight years old after being introduced to the game by his father.

Professional career

Samooja competed in the European Tour Qualifying School in 2008, 2009, 2010, 2013, and 2014. 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 The Asian Tour is the principal men's professional golf tour in Asia except for Japan, which has its own Japan Golf Tour, which is also a full member of the International Federation of PGA Tours. Official money events on the tour count for Wor ...

. He did not have a ton of success but recorded top-10 finishes at the 2012 Handa Faldo Cambodian Classic and 2015 Philippine Open. In 2016, Samooja made it on to the European Tour's developmental tour, the

Challenge Tour The Challenge Tour is the second-tier men's professional golf tour in Europe. It is operated by the PGA European Tour and, as with on the main European Tour and the European Senior Tour, some of the events are played outside Europe. History The ...

. Samooja finished 69th and 71st on the Challenge Tour's Order of Merit in 2016 and 2017. In 2018, he won the Hainan Open and finished 4th on the Order of Merit earning a promotion to the European Tour. 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 The Kenya Open, titled as the Magical Kenya Open for sponsorship reasons, is a professional golf tournament in Kenya founded in 1967. History The Kenya Open was an associate event on the Far East Circuit in 1967 and 1968, after which it became a ...

. Samooja would then play excellently at the

Omega European Masters The Omega European Masters is the Swiss stop on professional men's golf's European Tour, and in 2009 it became the first event in Europe to be co-sanctioned by the Asian Tour. Founded as the Swiss Open in 1923, the tournament was prefixed with Eu ...

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. The five-way playoff included:

Rory McIlroy Rory Daniel McIlroy (born 4 May 1989) is a professional golfer from Northern Ireland who is a member of both the European and PGA Tours. He is the current world number one in the Official World Golf Ranking, and has spent over 100 weeks in tha ...

Sebastian Söderberg Jan Sebastian Söderberg (born 19 September 1990) is a Swedish professional golfer. Early life and amateur career Söderberg was born in Eksjö in Småland, Sweden, but grew up playing golf at Delsjö Golf Club in Gothenburg on the west coast ...

, Samooja,

Lorenzo Gagli Lorenzo Gagli (born 14 October 1985) is an Italian professional golfer. He won the 2018 Barclays Kenya Open, his first win on the Challenge Tour. Professional career Gagli turned professional in 2006. He spent 2007 on the Alps Tour, where he ...

, and

Andrés Romero Andrés Fabián Romero (born 8 May 1981) is an Argentine professional golfer who plays on both the PGA Tour and European Tour. Career Romero was born in Tucumán. He won his European Tour card by finishing 14th on the Challenge Tour rankings i ...

. 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. Samooja would have one more top-10 during the season, a T-10 at the

Nedbank Golf Challenge The Nedbank Golf Challenge, previously known as the Million Dollar Challenge, is an annual men's professional golf tournament played at the Gary Player Country Club in Sun City, North West province, South Africa. It was first played in 1981 and ...

. These three top-10s helped him finish 62nd on the Order of Merit and thereby keep his card. In June 2022, Samooja won the

Porsche European Open The European Open is a European Tour golf tournament. Founded in 1978, up to 1994 it was played at various courses in England, including Sunningdale and Walton Heath, except for the 1979 event, which was held at Turnberry in Scotland. Between ...

shooting a final-round 64 (−8) to claim his first European Tour victory.

Professional wins (12)

European Tour wins (1)

European Tour playoff record (0–2)

Challenge Tour wins (1)

¹Co-sanctioned by the

China Tour The China Tour is a China-based men's professional golf tours, professional golf tour run by the China Golf Association. An earlier tour, the Omega China Tour, ran from 2004 to 2009. From 2014 to 2016 the tour was organised with the PGA Tour Chin ...

Nordic Golf League wins (2)

Finnish Tour wins (8)

Results in major championships

CUT = missed the half-way cut

Team appearances

Amateur *

European Boys' Team Championship The European Boys' Team Championship (Jean-Louis Dupont Trophy) is a European amateur team golf championship for men up to 18 organized by the European Golf Association. The inaugural event was held in 1980 and it has been played annually since. S ...

(representing Finland): 2005, 2006 *

European Amateur Team Championship The European Amateur Team Championship is a European amateur team golf championship for men organised by the European Golf Association which was introduced in 1959. The championship was played in odd-numbered years from 1959 to 2007 and has been ...

(representing Finland):

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

Eisenhower Trophy The Eisenhower Trophy (World Men's Amateur Team Championships) is the biennial World Amateur Team Championship for men organized by the International Golf Federation. Since the tournament was first played in 1958, it is named after Dwight D. Eisen ...

(representing Finland): 2010 *

St Andrews Trophy The St Andrews Trophy is a biennial men's team golf tournament contested between teams of amateur golfers representing Great Britain & Ireland and the Continent of Europe. It takes its name from St Andrews in Scotland. It was first played in 1 ...

(representing Continent of Europe): 2010 (winners)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Samooja, Kalle Finnish male golfers European Tour golfers Asian Tour golfers Olympic golfers of Finland Golfers at the 2020 Summer Olympics Sportspeople from Turku 1988 births Living people 21st-century Finnish people