Toni Hakula (born 27 September 1991) is a Finnish

professional golfer A professional golfer is somebody who receives payments or financial rewards in the sport of golf that are directly related to their skill or reputation. A person who earns money by teaching or playing golf is traditionally considered a "golf pr ...

. He has three victories in

PGA Tour The PGA Tour (stylized as PGA TOUR by its officials) is the organizer of professional golf tours in North America. It organizes most of the events on the flagship annual series of tournaments also known as the PGA Tour, the PGA Tour Champion ...

-organized third-tier tours in Mexico, Ecuador and the United States. As an amateur, he won the 2012 NCAA Championship with Texas and was runner-up at

The Amateur Championship The Amateur Championship (sometimes referred to as the British Amateur or British Amateur Championship outside the UK) is a golf tournament which has been held annually in the United Kingdom since 1885 except during the two World Wars, and in 19 ...

in 2013.

Early life and amateur career

Hakula was born in Espoo, Finland, and started playing golf when he was four years old. As an amateur, Hakula pulled off two runner-up finishes on the

Nordic Golf League The Nordic Golf League is one of the third-tier men's professional golf tours, recognised by the European Tour, also known as the Satellite Tours. The top five players on the Order of Merit at the end of each season earn status to play on the seco ...

, at the 2008 Visma Masters, 2 strokes behind Magnus Persson Atlevi, and again at the 2010 Willis Masters. He was competitive at the 2008 Junior Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass in Florida and finished top-20. Between 2007 and 2013, Hakula represented Finland in international team competitions, including four

European Amateur Team Championship The European Amateur Team Championship is a European amateur team golf championship for men organised by the European Golf Association which was introduced in 1959. The championship was played in odd-numbered years from 1959 to 2007 and has been ...

s and twice at the World Amateur Team Championship for the

Eisenhower Trophy The Eisenhower Trophy (World Men's Amateur Team Championships) is the biennial World Amateur Team Championship for men organized by the International Golf Federation. Since the tournament was first played in 1958 Eisenhower Trophy, 1958, it is nam ...

. He was runner-up individually in strokeplay at the 2008

European Boys' Team Championship The European Boys' Team Championship (Jean-Louis Dupont Trophy) is a European amateur team golf championship for men up to 18 organized by the European Golf Association. The inaugural event was held in 1980 and it has been played annually since. S ...

, a stroke behind Lucas Bjerregaard. In 2009 , he played for Europe in the

Jacques Léglise Trophy The Jacques Léglise Trophy is an annual amateur boys' team golf competition between Great Britain & Ireland and the Continent of Europe. It was first played in 1977, as a one-day match before the Boys Amateur Championship, but since 1996 it has ...

, as they beat Great Britain & Ireland 14–9 at the

Ganton Golf Club Ganton Golf Club is a golf club in Ganton, North Yorkshire, England. It has an 18-hole golf course that has hosted many major tournaments, including the 1949 Ryder Cup. Ganton has been widely rated as one of the best golf courses in England a ...

. Hakula attended the

University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public university, public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 stud ...

from 2010 to 2014 and played with the Texas Longhorns men's golf team. As a freshman, he was named Big 12 Newcomer of the Year. In 2012, he helped Texas win the 2012 NCAA Championship alongside a three later

players,

Jordan Spieth Jordan Alexander Spieth (; born July 27, 1993) is an American professional golfer on the PGA Tour and former world number one in the Official World Golf Ranking. He is a three-time major winner and the 2015 FedEx Cup champion. Spieth's first m ...

, Dylan Frittelli and Kramer Hickok, contributing a 2–1–0 record. In 2013, Hakula was runner-up at

at Royal Cinque Ports Golf Club, losing the 36-hole final to Garrick Porteous of Scotland by 6 and 5. He lost a six-hole playoff against Kyle Westermoreland at the Patriot All-America Invitational, and finished T-49th in the

U.S. Amateur The United States Amateur Championship, commonly known as the U.S. Amateur, is the leading annual golf tournament in the United States for amateur golfers. It is organized by the United States Golf Association and is currently held each August ov ...

strokeplay, but lost in a playoff round to not qualify for the 64-player match play field. He tied for 9th individually at the 2014 NCAA Division I men's golf championship, and was named to the 2014 Ben Hogan Award watch list.

Professional career

Hakula turned professional in 2014 and joined the

PGA Tour Canada PGA Tour Canada, commonly referred to as the Canadian Tour, was a men's professional golf tour headquartered in Toronto, Ontario. The United States–based PGA Tour took over operation of the tour on November 1, 2012, at which time it was renamed ...

in 2015. He played on the

PGA Tour Latinoamérica PGA Tour Latinoamérica was a third level professional golf tour formed in 2012 and operated by the PGA Tour. It was formed in concert with the now also defunct Tour de las Américas. Executives from the Tour de las Américas became employees of ...

between 2016 and 2023, where he won twice, in Mexico and Ecuador. He also won a tournament in the 2020 LocaliQ Series in Florida. In 2024, he joined the newly created

PGA Tour Americas PGA Tour Americas is a golf tour that began play in 2024. The tour replaces the previous PGA Tour Canada and the PGA Tour Latinoamérica, and will consist of a Latin America swing from February to May, and a North America swing from June to Sep ...

Personal life

His younger sister Anne also played golf at the University of Texas and is married to golfer Kramer Hickok.

Amateur wins

*2013 New Year's Invitational, Spirit International Amateur Source:

Professional wins (3)

PGA Tour Latinoamérica wins (2)

LocaliQ Series wins (1)

Team appearances

Amateur *

(representing Finland): 2007, 2008, 2009 *

(representing Finland):

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

(representing Finland):

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

(representing Continent of Europe): 2009 (winners) Source:

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hakula, Toni Finnish male golfers Texas Longhorns men's golfers Golfers from Espoo 1991 births Living people 21st-century Finnish sportsmen