SAMOOJA Kalle

General
TURNING POINT
He says 2015 was a turning point in his career after suffering a loss of form in 2014. "I was playing between two Tours [Nordic League and Challenge Tour] and my game wasn't great. That was when I really decided to make some changes and in 2015 I started a new chapter in my golfing career. I changed coach to Mika Piltz, a former player, and he really helped me with a clear vision about how my swing should look and where we should go in my career. I've really improved since then. I made some other changes too, bringing other guys on board like fitness coaches. That's helped my game a lot, and fitness is something that I do spend a lot of time on because there's only so much time you can spend indoors hitting golf balls during dark winters in Finland. I think it's become part of the Finnish players' identity to work out too and it's a big advantage we have because when you stay in good shape it's also easier to travel." (europeantour.com, 05 May 2021)

BIG MONTH
In October 2018 he won his first Challenge Tour event, the Hainan Open in People's Republic of China, and his son was also born in the same month. "The week I won on the Challenge Tour it was almost like fate, as I was back in China and we had just had our son two weeks before. I don't think I'm the first person to have won straight after having their first child, but it was a really great experience, and that win got me on to the European Tour. He was actually supposed to be born that week but he arrived when I was home, and it was just such a relief. And then I got out there and my putter felt great and conditions were similar to what I was used to so it almost felt like an easy week, but you still have to play well for four rounds." (europeantour.com, 05 May 2021)