Sami Välimäki (born 16 July 1998) 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 ...

who plays on the

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 ...

and the

European Tour The European Tour, currently titled as the DP World Tour for sponsorship reasons, and legally the PGA European Tour or the European Tour Group, is the leading men's professional golf tour in Europe. The organisation also operates the European ...

. In his 6th European Tour start, he won the 2020

Oman Open The Oman Open is a European Tour golf tournament, held at Al Mouj Golf in Muscat, Oman. When founded in 2018, it was one of five European Tour events to be staged in the Arabian Peninsula, but is currently one of six. Though it was the first Europ ...

Amateur career

During 2018, Välimäki was selected for the Europe team in the

Bonallack Trophy The Bonallack Trophy is an amateur golf competition on the model of the Ryder Cup which opposes every two years a European team and a team representing Asia/Pacific. The venue alternates between courses in Europe and Asia/Pacific. The first compe ...

and for the Continent of Europe team in the

St Andrews Trophy The St Andrews Trophy is a biennial men's team golf tournament contested between teams of amateur golfers representing Great Britain & Ireland and the Continent of Europe. It takes its name from St Andrews in Scotland. It was first played in 19 ...

. He played for the Finnish team that won the 2018

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 ...

and represented Finland in the

2018 Eisenhower Trophy The 2018 Eisenhower Trophy took place 5–8 September at the Carton House Golf Club in Maynooth, County Kildare, Ireland. It was the 31st World Amateur Team Championship for the Eisenhower Trophy. The tournament was a 72-hole stroke play team eve ...

. He reached as high as 10th in the

World Amateur Golf Ranking The World Amateur Golf Ranking for men was introduced by The R&A, the governing body of the sport of golf outside the United States and Mexico, on 23 January 2007. It is based on the results of over 2,600 amateur tournaments per year (and amateurs ...

during 2018. While still an amateur, Välimäki also played a number of

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 ...

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. 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. After his third win on the 2019 Pro Golf Tour, Välimäki earned a place on the

Challenge Tour The Challenge Tour, currently titled as the HotelPlanner Tour for sponsorship reasons and also sometimes referred to as the European Challenge Tour, is the second-tier men's professional golf tour in Europe. It is operated by the PGA European To ...

, but later he qualified for the

for 2020 by finishing 8th in qualifying school. In his fifth start of the 2020 season, he won the

, beating

Brandon Stone Brandon Stone (born 20 April 1993) is a South African professional golfer who plays on the European Tour and Sunshine Tour. He represented South Africa at the 2016 Summer Olympics. Amateur career Stone won several amateur tournaments in South A ...

in a playoff. In October 2023, Välimäki claimed his second European Tour win at the

Commercial Bank Qatar Masters The Qatar Masters is a European Tour golf tournament held at Doha Golf Club in Doha, Qatar. When founded in 1998, it was one of two European Tour events to be staged in the Arabian Peninsula, but was at one point, one of six. From 2005 to 2007 ...

, beating Jorge Campillo in a playoff.

Personal life

Välimäki is a cousin of Finnish

NHL The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

player Juuso Välimäki.

Amateur wins

*2016 Ticino Championship, Finnish Junior Match Play Under-18 *2017 Portuguese International Amateur Championship, Ticino Championship Source:

Professional wins (8)

European Tour wins (2)

European Tour playoff record (2–0)

Pro Golf Tour wins (4)

Finnish Tour wins (2)

Results in major championships

''Results not in chronological order in 2020.'' CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" = tied
NT = no tournament due to

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

Results in The Players Championship

"T" indicates a tie for a place

Results in World Golf Championships

¹Cancelled due to

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

pandemic
"T" = Tied
NT = No tournament

Team appearances

Amateur *

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 ...

(representing Finland): 2015, 2016 *

(representing Finland):

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

(winners) *

(representing Europe): 2018 *

(representing the Continent of Europe): 2018 (winners) *

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 ...