Toni Karjalainen (born 9 July 1979) is a Finnish professional golfer who formerly played on the European Tour and the Challenge Tour. He was his country's highest ranked male golfer and one of only a few Finnish golfers playing on the leading professional tours when he won twice on the Challenge Tour in 2005 and 2006.
| Toni Karjalainen | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Personal information | |||
| Born | 9 July 1979 Lappeenranta, Finland | ||
| Height | 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) | ||
| Sporting nationality |  Finland | ||
| Residence | Espoo, Finland | ||
| Career | |||
| Turned professional | 2003 | ||
| Former tour(s) | European Tour Asian Tour Challenge Tour Nordic Golf League | ||
| Professional wins | 6 | ||
| Number of wins by tour | |||
| Challenge Tour | 2 | ||
| Other | 4 | ||
| Achievements and awards | |||
| |||
Amateur career
editAs an amateur, Karjalainen represented his country at the European Youths' Team Championship,[1] the European Amateur Team Championship[2][3][4] and twice at the Eisenhower Trophy.[5] At the 2001 European Amateur Team Championship at Ljunghusen Golf Club in Sweden, team Finland finished a historical high forth (behind England, Ireland and Sweden) in the qualifying stroke-play competition and lost to champions to be Scotland in the quarter-finals.
In June 2002, still an amateur, Karjalainen won the Messilä Trophy in Finland on the Nordic Golf League.[6]
Professional career
editKarjalainen earned his playing rights on the 2004 Nordic Golf League by finished second at the qualifying school at Eslöv Golf Club in Sweden at the end of 2003.[6]
Karjalainen won the 2005 Thomas Bjørn Open in Denmark in his first season on the Challenge Tour, the European Tour's official developmental tour, on his way to finish 20th on the Order of Merit, the last place to earn full membership, with limited privileges, on the European Tour for 2006. He followed that up in 2006 by winning again on the Challenge Tour, the Telenet Trophy at the Limburg Golf and Country Club in Belgium in a last round interrupted by thunderstorms.[7] He also made several appearances on the main European Tour in 2006, making five cuts. His best finish on the European Tour was tied 20th at the 2006 BA-CA Golf Open in Vienna, Austria.[8]
In July 2006 he reached a career best 282nd on the Official World Golf Ranking, and was at the time Finland's highest ranked player.[9]
Having lost his playing privileges in Europe at the end of the 2008 season, Karjalainen joined the Asian Tour in 2009 after coming through qualifying school.[10]
Professional wins (6)
editChallenge Tour wins (2)
edit| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | Margin of victory |
Runner(s)-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 12 Jun 2005 | Thomas Bjørn Open | +4 (66-73-74-75=288) | 1 stroke |  Oskar Bergman
|
| 2 | 21 May 2006 | Telenet Trophy | −14 (66-73-67-68=274) | 1 stroke |  Ivó Giner,  Gary Lockerbie
|
Nordic Golf League wins (3)
edit| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | Margin of victory |
Runner(s)-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 30 Jun 2002 | Messilä Trophy | −15 (63-67-71=201) | 6 strokes | Erik Stenman
|
| 2 | 12 Jun 2009 | FGT II | −12 (66-68-70=204) | 5 strokes | Joonas Granberg, Thomas Sundström
|
| 3 | 31 Jul 2011 | Gant Open | −16 (65-66-69=200) | Playoff | Kristoffer Broberg
|
Finnish Tour wins (1)
edit| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | Margin of victory |
Runner-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 28 Jul 2002 | SM Reikäpeli | 1 up | Mikael Piltz
| |
Team appearances
editAmateur
- European Youths' Team Championship (representing Finland): 1998, 2000[1]
- Eisenhower Trophy (representing Finland): 2000,[5] 2002
- European Amateur Team Championship (representing Finland): 2001[2][3][4][11]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b "EGA Events, Results, European Team Championships, European Youths' Team Championship". European Golf Association. Retrieved 10 January 2023.
- ^ a b Jansson, Anders (2004). Golf - Den stora sporten [Golf - The great sport] (in Swedish). Swedish Golf Federation. pp. 188–190. ISBN 91-86818007. Retrieved 22 March 2021.
- ^ a b "EM herrar" [Men's European Championship]. Svensk Golf (in Swedish). No. 8. August 2001. pp. 112–114. Retrieved 17 April 2021.
- ^ a b "European Amateur Team Championship Results, 2001 - Ljunghusen GC, Sweden". European Golf Association. Retrieved 17 April 2021.
- ^ a b "2000 World Amateur Golf Team Championships Record Book" (PDF). World Amateur Golf Council. Retrieved 10 January 2023.
- ^ a b "Golfdata, Toni Karjalainen, Alla tävlingsresultat" [Golfdata, Toni Karjalainen, All competition results]. Swedish Golf Federation. Retrieved 12 January 2023.
- ^ "Players, Toni Larjalainen, Wins and Results, Tournament Wins". European Tour. Retrieved 11 January 2023.
- ^ "Players, Toni Karjalainen, Overview, Meet Toni". European Tour. Retrieved 11 January 2023.
- ^ "Players, Toni Karjalainen". Official World Golf Ranking. Retrieved 12 January 2023.
- ^ "Karjalainen grabs weekend lead in Asian Tour opener". PGA Tour. 6 February 2009. Retrieved 11 January 2023.
- ^ "Ireland cruise past Germany". Irish Independent. 6 July 2001. Retrieved 20 April 2021.
External links
edit- Toni Karjalainen at the European Tour official site
- Toni Karjalainen at the Official World Golf Ranking official site
- Toni Karjalainen at the Golfdata official site (in Swedish)