Kalle Samooja

Kalle Samooja (born 25 January 1988) is a Finnish professional golfer.^[1]

Kalle Samooja
Personal information
Born	(1988-01-25) 25 January 1988 (age 37) 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 Challenge Tour Nordic Golf League Finnish Tour LIV Golf
Professional wins	12
Number of wins by tour
European Tour	1
Challenge Tour	1
Other	10
Best results in major championships
Masters Tournament	DNP
PGA Championship	CUT: 2021
U.S. Open	CUT: 2022
The Open Championship	CUT: 2023
Achievements and awards
Finnish Tour Order of Merit winner 2008, 2012

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] He joined Martin Kaymer's Cleeks GC team but only managed two points scoring finishes during the season to finish in the relegation zone and lose his place on the league.^[9] Prior to the start of the 2025 LIV Golf League, it was announced that he would be one of the reserves for the season.^[10]

Amateur wins

• 2009 French International Amateur Championship^[11]

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	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 (as an amateur)	−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 (8)

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

• European Boys' Team Championship (representing Finland): 2005, 2006^[12]
• European Amateur Team Championship (representing Finland): 2008, 2009, 2010
• Eisenhower Trophy (representing Finland): 2010
• St Andrews Trophy (representing Continent of Europe): 2010 (winners)

See also

• 2018 Challenge Tour graduates