Kalle Samooja is making his return to professional golf this week at the Vierumäki Finnish Challenge supported by Finnish Golf Union, after being sidelined for more than a year through injury.
The Finn has not competed professionally since the Swiss Challenge on the 2025 Road to Mallorca, one of only four starts in 2025 across the HotelPlanner Tour and the Asian Tour.
Now, Samooja is hoping an invite into his home event this week can help get him back to full fitness, before DP World Tour Q-School at the end of the season.
“It’s been a bit of a bumpy ride over the last few years,” he said. “I dropped out from LIV, I didn’t play great, then I had some wrist injuries, but tried to play on the Asian Tour and HotelPlanner Tour last year.
“In the end I had to have surgery on my left wrist and now I haven’t played an event for 14 months, so it’s been a long rehab, but I can see that there’s still a lot of hunger for the game and that’s why I’m back here.
“I’m very glad I did have surgery and now I can get ready for the Q-School Finals and the Asian Tour where I still have a category.”
Samooja made his debut on the HotelPlanner Tour in Finland at the 2009 SK Golf Challenge, benefitting from invites to get into events on home soil and kick start the early parts of his career.
The 38-year-old played in the first ever edition of the Vierumäki Finnish Challenge in 2016, as well as in 2018, where he finished in fifth on his way to graduating to the DP World Tour, giving him fond memories of this week’s venue.
“When I went for the surgery this was the first event I put down that I want to be back playing to see how I can still compete,” he added.
“I always like to be here, the course is in magnificent shape. When we first came here there was lots of winter damage, but it has evolved since then and it’s nice to be back here after eight years.
“I don’t have many memories of Vierumäki from the first one, but I do from in 2018 when I graduated from the HotelPlanner Tour. I had a great finish and Kim Koivu won so it was good for the Finns that week, it gave me good memories. That’s why it’s nice to be back here so it’s a good home event.
“The Finnish Challenge overall has always played a big role because the top guys can get invites and I used them well in 2016 I think. There’s always someone who has used them well and benefitted from the HotelPlanner Tour so it’s very important for our country and hopefully it keeps going over the next few years as well.”
Samooja won the 2018 Hainan Open on his way to reaching Golf’s Global Tour, accruing a second, third and three other top ten finishes that year.
The Finn qualified alongside multiple players who are now DP World Tour winners, including Ryder Cup star Robert MacIntyre.
Samooja himself became a winner on the Tour in 2022, winning the Porsche European Open; he felt the HotelPlanner Tour prepared him well to take this step.
“It was a very tough class in 2018. There was a lot of now DP World Tour winners from that group of guys. The level was high.
“I played well the whole season, had a win in Hainan at the end of that year which boosted me to the DP World Tour and I had a good run there.
"I think this tour really helps you find the best in your game and play well on the DP, like Oliver Lindell has done now and a lot of other guys so I think it is a great pathway to move forward.
“You have to play well to graduate and you can see every year, the top 15 or 20 guys, they play well on the DP World so they are ready to play against the best guys.”
Despite his past success, Samooja knows that this week is just the first step back to where he once was. But the Finn is looking forward to seeing where his game stands after an extended absence.
“This is my first step back to professional golf and it’s good to see where my standard is at the moment,” he said. “I feel good and it’s nice to challenge myself against the guys here.
“This is just the first week so we’ll see where it takes me. I can see that the game is there, I don’t know if it will be there for four days but hopefully I can be somewhere there in the hunt on Sunday for the win.
“I know that you need to make a lot of birdies here. It’s going to be an interesting week and I hope there’s going to be at least one or two Finn’s that will do well. Tapio [Pulkkanen] has done well this season and it shows good signs for Finnish Golf.”
Samooja tees off in Thursday’s opening round at 1.25pm local time alongside England’s Alfie Plant and Norway’s Baard Skogen.
