Sami Välimäki
Sami Välimäki | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Personal information | |||||
Born | (1998-07-16) 16 July 1998 (age 25) Nokia, Finland | ||||
Height | 6 ft 2 in (188 cm) | ||||
Sporting nationality | Finland | ||||
Residence | Pirkkala, Finland | ||||
Career | |||||
Turned professional | 2019 | ||||
Current tour(s) | PGA Tour European Tour | ||||
Former tour(s) | Pro Golf Tour Finnish Tour | ||||
Professional wins | 8 | ||||
Highest ranking | 68 (17 January 2021)[1] (as of 30 June 2024) | ||||
Number of wins by tour | |||||
European Tour | 2 | ||||
Other | 6 | ||||
Best results in major championships | |||||
Masters Tournament | DNP | ||||
PGA Championship | CUT: 2021, 2024 | ||||
U.S. Open | CUT: 2020 | ||||
The Open Championship | T68: 2023 | ||||
Achievements and awards | |||||
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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 | Brandon Stone |
2 | 29 Oct 2023 | Commercial Bank Qatar Masters | −18 (67-67-67-69=270) | Playoff | Jorge Campillo |
European Tour playoff record (2–0)
No. | Year | Tournament | Opponent | Result |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 2020 | Oman Open | Brandon Stone | Won with par on third extra hole |
2 | 2023 | Commercial Bank Qatar Masters | 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 | David Heinzinger |
2 | 17 Aug 2019 | Starnberg Open | −13 (68-64-68=200) | 1 stroke | Thomas Rosenmüller |
3 | 24 Aug 2019 | EXTEC CzechOne Open | −13 (67-66-67=200) | 3 strokes | Ondřej Lieser |
4 | 1 Oct 2019 | Castanea Resort Championship | −19 (67-63-67=197) | 4 strokes | 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 | Peter Erofejeff |
2 | 20 Jun 2024 | SM Reikäpeli | 3 and 2 | 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 = missed the half-way cut
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
"T" = Tied
NT = No tournament
Team appearances
Amateur
- European Boys' Team Championship (representing Finland): 2015, 2016[9]
- European Amateur Team Championship (representing Finland): 2018 (winners)
- Bonallack Trophy (representing Europe): 2018
- St Andrews Trophy (representing the Continent of Europe): 2018 (winners)
- Eisenhower Trophy (representing Finland): 2018
See also
References
- ^ "Week 3 2021 Ending 17 Jan 2021" (pdf). OWGR. Retrieved 18 January 2021.
- ^ "Tour-Rookie Sami Välimäki wins in Morocco". PGA of Germany. 10 February 2019.
- ^ "Trophies for Sami Välimäki and Hurly Long". PGA of Germany. 2 October 2019.
- ^ "Third win and direct Challenge Tour promotion for Sami Välimäki". PGA of Germany. 25 August 2019.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "Qatar Masters: Sami Valimaki beats Jorge Campillo in play-off & Scott Jamieson retains Tour card". BBC Sport. 29 October 2023. Retrieved 29 October 2023.
- ^ Mastey, Remy (9 February 2024). "Juuso Välimäki Opens up About Cousin Playing at Waste Management Phoenix Open". The Hockey News. Retrieved 27 February 2024.
- ^ "Sami Valimaki". World Amateur Golf Ranking. Retrieved 1 March 2020.
- ^ "European Boys' Team Championship – European Golf Association". Retrieved 22 January 2023.
External links
- Sami Välimäki at the European Tour official site
- Sami Välimäki at the PGA Tour official site
- Sami Välimäki at the Official World Golf Ranking official site
- v
- t
- e
- 1960 Tommy Goodwin
- 1961 Alex Caygill
- 1962 No award
- 1963 Tony Jacklin
- 1964 No award
- 1965 No award
- 1966 Robin Liddle
- 1967 No award
- 1968 Bernard Gallacher
- 1969 Peter Oosterhuis
- 1970 Stuart Brown
- 1971 David Llewellyn
- 1972 Sam Torrance
- 1973 Pip Elson
- 1974 Carl Mason
- 1975 No award
- 1976 Mark James
- 1977 Nick Faldo
- 1978 Sandy Lyle
- 1979 Mike Miller
- 1980 Paul Hoad
- 1981 Jeremy Bennett
- 1982 Gordon Brand Jnr
- 1983 Grant Turner
- 1984 Philip Parkin
- 1985 Paul Thomas
- 1986 José María Olazábal
- 1987 Peter Baker
- 1988 Colin Montgomerie
- 1989 Paul Broadhurst
- 1990 Russell Claydon
- 1991 Per-Ulrik Johansson
- 1992 Jim Payne
- 1993 Gary Orr
- 1994 Jonathan Lomas
- 1995 Jarmo Sandelin
- 1996 Thomas Bjørn
- 1997 Scott Henderson
- 1998 Olivier Edmond
- 1999 Sergio García
- 2000 Ian Poulter
- 2001 Paul Casey
- 2002 Nick Dougherty
- 2003 Peter Lawrie
- 2004 Scott Drummond
- 2005 Gonzalo Fernández-Castaño
- 2006 Marc Warren
- 2007 Martin Kaymer
- 2008 Pablo Larrazábal
- 2009 Chris Wood
- 2010 Matteo Manassero
- 2011 Tom Lewis
- 2012 Ricardo Santos
- 2013 Peter Uihlein
- 2014 Brooks Koepka
- 2015 An Byeong-hun
- 2016 Wang Jeung-hun
- 2017 Jon Rahm
- 2018 Shubhankar Sharma
- 2019 Robert MacIntyre
- 2020 Sami Välimäki
- 2021 Matti Schmid
- 2022 Thriston Lawrence
- 2023 Ryo Hisatsune