Roope Kakko

Who is Roope Kakko?

Roope Kakko is a Finnish professional golfer.

Kakko was born in Espoo, Finland. He started playing golf at the age of five.

In 2004, Kakko became only the third amateur to win a tournament on the Challenge Tour, when he won his home event, the Volvo Finnish Open. The win earned him a Tour card for the following season, and having turned professional later in 2004, he joined the Challenge Tour full-time. He was a regular on the tour for the next five seasons, although he did not win again, with a best finish on the money list of 27th in 2008, when he was twice a runner-up. His strong 2008 season gained Kakko entry into a small number of European Tour events, and he capitalised on those opportunities by making successive top-10 finishes at the 2009 BMW Italian Open and 3 Irish Open. Despite these successes, his limited playing opportunities meant Kakko returned to the Challenge Tour full-time in 2010, but at the end of that season he came through the Qualifying School to secure full membership of the European Tour for the first time. In October 2013, Kakko would win his first tournament as a professional when he claimed victory at the National Bank of Oman Golf Classic on the Challenge Tour.