No one from Finland has ever won on the PGA TOUR. That Sunday, Sami Valimaki didn’t alter the narrative entirely, but he did get close.
In order to tie the 54-hole leader Jake Knapp, who started the day as a heavy favourite (83% odds to win per Data Golf) on the strength of otherworldly ball striking through three days but struggled off the tee Sunday, Valimaki, 25, made up four strokes through seven holes on Sunday. His rally was highlighted by an eagle at the short seventh par-4.
At Vidanta Vallarta, Valimaki ran out of steam on the last nine holes, and Knapp had to shoot an even-par 71 to win by two strokes, but Finland’s first member of the Tour enjoyed a Sunday afternoon in the limelight.
“I had a great time the entire week. Even though I thought I had the game to win here, it wasn’t this Sunday. Jake had a great day yesterday, finishing strong on the back nine, so even though I was four behind, I felt like I held my own today.” Valimaki said.
In addition to 300 FedExCup points, Valimaki’s solitary second place performance has a long list of benefits. He leads the current Aon Swing 5, which offers five slots at the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard after next week’s Cognizant Classic in The Palm Beaches, and climbs up to No. 35 on the FedExCup standings. When the field is finalised following the Arnold Palmer Invitational, he will have a strong chance of making it into THE PLAYERS Championship, and his ranking on the TOUR Priority Ranking will be much enhanced in the upcoming shuffles of the season.
Finished No. 12 in the previous season’s DP World Tour Race to Dubai—the first to offer a straight TOUR pathway to the top-10 finishers on the season-long standings (not otherwise exempt)—Valimaki earned his maiden TOUR card. Following two TOUR outings where he missed the cut, he finished T43 at the Farmers Insurance Open and T41 at the WM Phoenix Open. He discovered a higher gear in Mexico, where he rebounded from an opening 64 with consecutive 67s to secure a berth in Sunday’s final pairing with fellow rookie Knapp.
Driven by the eagle on the seventh hole, Valimaki shot 3-under 32 to tie Knapp for the lead at 18-under through the last nine holes at Vidanta Vallarta. On the par-4 10th hole, Valimaki’s tee shot found a water hazard to the right of the fairway, which resulted in a bogey (to Knapp’s par).
At the par-5 12th hole, Valimaki tied the lead with a birdie, but he lost ground at the par-3 13th hole after finding a greenside bunker and missing an 11-foot par putt. At the fourteenth par-5, Knapp made a birdie to put himself two ahead, and he closed with four consecutive pars to secure the victory.
Valimaki, on the other hand, lost badly. At the par-5 18th hole, two strokes behind Knapp, he pulled driver thinking he needed an eagle to have a chance. He played a powerful fade but over-cut it, causing the ball to bounce off the cart path and land into a boundary fence. Taking an unplayable lie, he moved his third shot to within a hair’s breadth of the green before settling for par.
“I tried to hit fade, but I made a small switch right before the shot. I had the target in mind.” I’m not sure why, but usually I just hit draws. I therefore made an effort to hit perfectly and then let it ride.” referring to his tee shot at number 18.
“I’m not sure if my decision to drive was fortunate or unlucky. Remaining in play, I took a penalty drop, and after that, I knew my only chance was to try to make five and finish in second place (from the cart path). From there, it was through the grass.” he continued.
Most people consider Mikko Ilonen to be the greatest accomplished professional golfer in Finland; he finished No. 37 in the Official World Golf Ranking and won five DP World Tour championships. Ilonen, who turned 39 in 2019 and announced his retirement from the game, finished two places in the top ten in major championships.
With three major tournaments under his belt, Valimaki was just one win away from receiving his first Masters invitation on Sunday at Vidanta Vallarta. Knapp was awarded that honour, but it wouldn’t surprise anyone if Valimaki managed to get to Augusta National in a different method. He demonstrated on Sunday that he won’t give up.
All we know is that Valimaki took his position as one of the greatest golfers ever from Finland – if not the greatest already!
