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]
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