Kalle Samooja is positive about getting ready to defend the maiden title he won in impressive fashion last season following a recent return to form that he credits to a two-month break.
When Samooja posted a course-record eight-under-par 64 in the final round of last year’s Porsche European Open, he had to exercise patience over an agonising two-hour wait before finding out he had won his maiden title.
“It might have been a bit of a shock,” he said.
“I thought once you win a golf tournament you do what Pablo did last week. Huge fist pumps on 18 and run around the crowd. It wasn’t the way I thought I would have my first win, but the feeling after, when everything happened with the guys behind me, it was clear I was going to win. It was unreal.
“We knew we had a chance to get to the U.S. Open, that’s what I was hoping for. Finish top two and get a spot because I didn’t have any points before that tournament. That was the only thing I was hoping for, then it started to look like it might be enough for the win or maybe for a play-off. A lot of things went through my mind, but I kept calm and just wanted to see how it fell in the end. It was a good wait.”
But what he felt like would be a springboard into more success actually translated into a dip in form and a requirement for more patience that came as something of a surprise.
Following his debut in the U.S Open, Samooja missed seven of nine cuts between the Horizon Irish Open and the Estrella Damn N.A Andalucia Masters.
“After you win you think you’re going to win every tournament,” he elaborated.
“It was a little slow at the end of last summer and I didn’t get the results, it gets to you a bit. I started well in Munich a couple of weeks after, had a great U.S. Open experience, but after that I didn’t get the best of my game.
“Maybe there’s a few things I could have done different over the last year, but I'm back on track and the results are getting back there.”
Then Samooja’s disappointing second half of the season saw him miss out on the DP World Tour Championship, ending his year at the Nedbank Golf Challenge.
But he remained determined, and decided to use the opportunity between the end of November until his next start at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship in January to take a break and reflect before working hard for this season.
Since then, things have been steadily improving for Samooja. His tie for 22nd at the Thailand Classic in February was his best performance since June last year, which he followed up with a tie for 24th at the Jonsson Workwear Open, a tie for ninth at the DS Automobiles Italian Open and a tie for 29th at last week’s KLM Open.
“I wanted to give myself some time to just enjoy the ride a little bit,” he explained.
“The break was good after the season and I’ve been working hard for this season.
“Tee to green has been pretty good all year. There’s been some good weeks but the putting hasn’t been the sharpest so far. It comes to the putting in the end, you have to hole the puts you need.
“In Italy I putted pretty well the first three days, didn’t really hole puts on Sunday, but got my top ten which I’ve been waiting for for a while and then last week in Holland. I feel pretty comfortable about my game at the moment.”
He now returns to the notoriously difficult Porsche Nord Course comfortable in his position as the defending champion, but knows that patience will once again be required.
“Tee to green it’s the longest we play all year, that’s what makes it tough,” he explained.
“You have a lot of mid irons and long irons. Once you come to the par five you need to make a birdie because they are the shortest holes for approach shots. You have to be patient and hit a lot of greens, a lot of fairways, you don’t win a tournament shooting a low number on Thursday or Friday. You just have to hang in there and fight hard on Sunday afternoon.
“The whole back nine is pretty strong. From 13 onwards, the long par four, and then a tight Sunday pin in the right back corner that makes the short par three quite tricky.
“On 15 the tees are up this year, that’s a good chance, the best chance on the course to make birdie or eagle. 16 you can’t reach in two, 17 a steady par three, you have to hit a good tee shot with water in play and on 18 anything can happen.
“It makes the finish quite interesting. You can have a two or three shot swing easily on those last five holes. You have to hang in there, hit good shots and if you play the last five holes well, you’ll finish off well.”
