Sami Välimäki is the first Finn to play a full season of golf on the PGA Tour. The goals of the season were fulfilled when Välimäki won the race and made it to the main tour.
Sami Välimäki will be the first Finnish golfer to play on the PGA Tour next year. The final tournament of the European tour in Dubai ended with a slight victory, when Välimäki played the final round to a score of +2.
With his overall score of four under par, he was tied for 38th place, but the most important thing, i.e. a card to the prestigious PGA Tour, played mainly in the United States, was secured. This year, on the European Tour, a card for next season’s PGA Tour will be distributed to the ten best players who do not already have a card. 25-year-old Välimäki is sixth on the list.
The legendary PGA Tour has been played for more than 100 years, and only Finns have previously played in tour tournaments other than majors or WGC Mikko Ilonen and Antti Ahokas.
– PGA Tour card secured. The goals of the season were to win one competition and secure a place on the PGA Tour, Välimäki wrote on his Instagram account.
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Välimäki, who took the second tour victory of his career in Qatar last month, in addition to the victory, was second on the tour twice this season. The Nokia native has now earned more than three million euros on the tour, and Välimäki was twelfth on the Race to Dubai list covering the entire season.
It is his second best achievement, in 2020 he was eleventh. For the fifth time in his career, the number one in the Race to Dubai list was from Northern Ireland Rory McIlroy.
The following goals are achieved on the PGA Tour, although Välimäki does not automatically qualify for all tournaments. Välimäki’s former coach Timo Karvinen glowed at the end of last month after the tournament in Qatar about the importance of the right to play on the PGA Tour.
– That’s amazing. It’s really a big deal. Compared to other sports, you could say that it is a world cup that is still limited to a certain number of players. Now Sami is among the best every week, Karvinen emphasized.
Karvinen said earlier this year For the golf magazinethat Finland does not understand how good a player Välimäki is.
– Sami is one of the talents of European golf, the absolute stars of the future. Yes, Sami is aiming to be a top 10 player on the European tour, Karvinen told the newspaper.
– The fundamental reason is the incredible work ethic for self-development. That uncompromising, really hard work.
On the PGA Tour, the jackpots are growing. American Scottie Scheffler has won two races this season, was second in two and in total 17 times in the top ten. He has collected the most money from the PGA Tour this season – around 19.8 million euros.
Dubai Final Tournament the win and the three million dollar pot was recovered by a 22-year-old Dane Nicolai Højgaard with a score of -21. The Nordic colors were seen at the top, as second place, two strokes behind the Dane, was being shared by the British by Tommy Fleetwood and by Matt Wallace with Norwegian Viktor Hovland.