Sami Välimäki

Sami Välimäki
Personal information
Born (1998-07-16) 16 July 1998 (age 26)
Nokia, Finland
Height6 ft 2 in (188 cm)
Sporting nationality Finland
ResidencePirkkala, Finland
Career
Turned professional2019
Current tour(s)PGA Tour
European Tour
Former tour(s)Pro Golf Tour
Finnish Tour
Professional wins8
Highest ranking68 (17 January 2021)[1]
(as of 24 November 2024)
Number of wins by tour
European Tour2
Other6
Best results in major championships
Masters TournamentDNP
PGA ChampionshipCUT: 2021, 2024
U.S. OpenCUT: 2020
The Open ChampionshipT68: 2023
Achievements and awards
Finnish Tour
Order of Merit winner		2019
Sir Henry Cotton
Rookie of the Year		2020

Sami Välimäki (born 16 July 1998) is a Finnish professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour and the European Tour. In his 6th European Tour start, he won the 2020 Oman Open.

Amateur career

During 2018, Välimäki was selected for the Europe team in the Bonallack Trophy and for the Continent of Europe team in the St Andrews Trophy. He played for the Finnish team that won the 2018 European Amateur Team Championship and represented Finland in the 2018 Eisenhower Trophy. He reached as high as 10th in the World Amateur Golf Ranking during 2018. While still an amateur, Välimäki also played a number of Nordic Golf League events during 2017 and 2018.

Professional career

Välimäki turned professional in early 2019 after the completion of his military service in Finland. He played mostly on the Pro Golf Tour during 2019. He won his first professional victory in February at the Open Casa Green Golf in Morocco.[2] He won twice more on the tour in August and also won the end-of-season Castanea Resort Championship for his fourth win of the season. Despite his four wins he only finished second in the Order of Merit.[3]

After his third win on the 2019 Pro Golf Tour, Välimäki earned a place on the Challenge Tour,[4] but later he qualified for the European Tour for 2020 by finishing 8th in qualifying school. In his fifth start of the 2020 season, he won the Oman Open, beating Brandon Stone in a playoff.[5]

In October 2023, Välimäki claimed his second European Tour win at the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters, beating Jorge Campillo in a playoff.[6]

Personal life

Välimäki is a cousin of Finnish NHL player Juuso Välimäki.[7]

Amateur wins

  • 2016 Ticino Championship, Finnish Junior Match Play Under-18
  • 2017 Portuguese International Amateur Championship, Ticino Championship

Source:[8]

Professional wins (8)

European Tour wins (2)

No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory 		Runner-up
1 1 Mar 2020 Oman Open −13 (74-67-64-70=275) Playoff South Africa Brandon Stone
2 29 Oct 2023 Commercial Bank Qatar Masters −18 (67-67-67-69=270) Playoff Spain Jorge Campillo

European Tour playoff record (2–0)

No. Year Tournament Opponent Result
1 2020 Oman Open South Africa Brandon Stone Won with par on third extra hole
2 2023 Commercial Bank Qatar Masters Spain Jorge Campillo Won with birdie on first extra hole

Pro Golf Tour wins (4)

No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory 		Runner-up
1 8 Feb 2019 Open Casa Green Golf −14 (68-66-67=201) 2 strokes Germany David Heinzinger
2 17 Aug 2019 Starnberg Open −13 (68-64-68=200) 1 stroke Germany Thomas Rosenmüller
3 24 Aug 2019 EXTEC CzechOne Open −13 (67-66-67=200) 3 strokes Czech Republic Ondřej Lieser
4 1 Oct 2019 Castanea Resort Championship −19 (67-63-67=197) 4 strokes Czech Republic Ondřej Lieser

Finnish Tour wins (2)

No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory 		Runner-up
1 15 Jun 2019 NRG Open −11 (73-65-67=205) Playoff Finland Peter Erofejeff
2 20 Jun 2024 SM Reikäpeli 3 and 2 Finland Eetu Isometsä

Results in major championships

Results not in chronological order in 2020.

Tournament 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
Masters Tournament
PGA Championship CUT CUT
U.S. Open CUT
The Open Championship NT T68 CUT
  Did not play

CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" = tied
NT = no tournament due to COVID-19 pandemic

Results in World Golf Championships

Tournament 2021
Championship T64
Match Play
Invitational
Champions NT1

1Cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic

  Did not play

"T" = Tied
NT = No tournament

Team appearances

Amateur

See also

References

  1. ^ "Week 3 2021 Ending 17 Jan 2021" (pdf). OWGR. Retrieved 18 January 2021.
  2. ^ "Tour-Rookie Sami Välimäki wins in Morocco". PGA of Germany. 10 February 2019.
  3. ^ "Trophies for Sami Välimäki and Hurly Long". PGA of Germany. 2 October 2019.
  4. ^ "Third win and direct Challenge Tour promotion for Sami Välimäki". PGA of Germany. 25 August 2019.
  5. ^ Huggan, John (1 March 2020). "Finland's Sami Valimaki, just 18 months out of military service, wins Oman Open". Golf World. Retrieved 2 March 2020.
  6. ^ "Qatar Masters: Sami Valimaki beats Jorge Campillo in play-off & Scott Jamieson retains Tour card". BBC Sport. 29 October 2023. Retrieved 29 October 2023.
  7. ^ Mastey, Remy (9 February 2024). "Juuso Välimäki Opens up About Cousin Playing at Waste Management Phoenix Open". The Hockey News. Retrieved 27 February 2024.
  8. ^ "Sami Valimaki". World Amateur Golf Ranking. Retrieved 1 March 2020.
  9. ^ "European Boys' Team Championship – European Golf Association". Retrieved 22 January 2023.