European Open: Kalle Samooja sets Hamburg course record to seal first DP World Tour title | Golf News

Kalle Samooja set a course record of 64 on the final day of the tournament in Hamburg, recording three birdies in his last four holes to register his first DP Tour World title; Wil Besseling finished second on four under

Finland’s Kalle Samooja produced an astonishing final round of 64 to win his maiden DP World Tour title in Hamburg

Finland’s Kalle Samooja carded a stunning final round of 64 to overturn a seven-shot deficit and claim his first DP World Tour title at the Porsche European Open in Hamburg.

Samooja fired eight birdies, including three in the last four holes, to establish a course record and set the clubhouse target on six under par, with the final groups still having nine holes to play.

Overnight-leader Victor Perez – who was seeking back-to-back victories after winning the Dutch Open last week – birdied the 10th and 11th to move into a share of the lead, only to bogey three of the next four holes.

Samooja joined the DP WorldTour in 2019

Dutchman Wil Besseling then got within a shot of Samooja when he birdied the 13th, but ran up a double-bogey on the 15th which included an ugly shank with his fourth shot.

Besseling bounced back to birdie the next, but when he bogeyed the 17th, Samooja’s victory was effectively assured.

The emotional 34-year-old fought back tears as he told Sky Sports: “It’s truly special. It’s been a long journey – [I’ve] been close a few times.

“We had a number in mind today and we reached that, we thought it might be enough and it was a long two-hour wait at the clubhouse to see guys battle it out. Fortunately it was enough.

“I was hitting the ball really well all week and when I saw the pins this morning I said to my caddie ‘there’s a low one out there’.

“The pins have been on ridges pretty much all week and today they were on the bottom of the slopes.

Victor Perez had led going into the final day, but a run of three bogeys in four holes ended his chances in Hamburg

“We were pretty sure it’s going to be a play-off or that we might even miss the play-off. I was just hoping to get a solo second and get a ticket to the US Open but this is a little better.”

A birdie on the 18th for Besseling meant he secured outright second place on four under, with Perez and England’s Richard Mansell sharing third on three under.

The trio all join Samooja for the US Open at Brookline, Massachusetts, which gets under way on June 16.

Ryan Fox, Thorbjorn Olesen, Sam Horsfield, Sebastian Soderberg, Yannik Paul and Marcel Schneider have also qualified.

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