Finland’s Sami Valimaki goes down swinging at Mexico Open

Finland has never produced a PGA TOUR winner. Sami Valimaki didn’t change that Sunday, but he came close.

Valimaki, 25, made up four strokes through seven holes Sunday — his rally highlighted by an eagle at the short par-4 seventh, smoking a 294-yard tee shot to 6 feet and converting — to pull into a tie with 54-hole leader Jake Knapp, who entered the day as a heavy favorite (83% odds to win per Data Golf) on the strength of otherworldly ball striking through three days but struggled off the tee Sunday.

Valimaki ran out of gas on the final nine at Vidanta Vallarta, as Knapp had to grind out an even-par 71 for a two-stroke win, but Finland’s first TOUR member relished a Sunday afternoon in the spotlight.

“I enjoyed the whole week,” Valimaki said afterward. “I feel like I have the game to win over here, it just wasn't this Sunday. I mean, I was four behind, yesterday was Jake’s day and he kept it going on the back nine, so I feel like I didn't lose it today.”

Valimaki’s solo second finish brings a litany of perks in addition to 300 FedExCup points. He moves to No. 35 on the FedExCup standings and leads the current Aon Swing 5 (which offers five spots at the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard, following next week’s Cognizant Classic in The Palm Beaches). He’ll have a good chance at getting into THE PLAYERS Championship when the field is finalized after the Arnold Palmer Invitational, and his spot on the TOUR Priority Ranking in the season’s upcoming reshuffles is greatly improved.

Valimaki earned his first TOUR card via a No. 12 position on last year’s DP World Tour Race to Dubai, the first season that provided a direct TOUR pathway to the top-10 finishers on the season-long standings (not otherwise exempt). He missed the cut in his first two TOUR starts of the season, followed by a T43 at the Farmers Insurance Open and a T41 at the WM Phoenix Open. He found a higher gear in Mexico, following up an opening 64 with back-to-back 67s to earn a spot in Sunday’s final pairing alongside Knapp, a fellow TOUR rookie.

Powered by the eagle at No. 7, Valimaki turned in 3-under 32, sharing the lead with Knapp at 18-under to the final nine at Vidanta Vallarta. Valimaki’s tee shot at the par-4 10th, though, found a water hazard to the right of the fairway, leading to a bogey (to Knapp’s par). Valimaki tied the lead with a birdie at the par-5 12th, but he fell one back with a bogey at the par-3 13th, finding a greenside bunker and missing an 11-foot par putt. Knapp made birdie at the par-5 14th to move two ahead, and he closed with four straight pars to cement the win.

Valimaki, for his part, went down swinging. He pulled driver at the par-5 18th, two back of Knapp and figuring he needed eagle for a chance; he played a hard fade but over-cut it, the ball bouncing off the cart path and settling against a boundary fence. He took an unplayable lie and advanced his third shot to just short of the green, ultimately settling for par.

“I had target on my mind, but just before the shot I did a little switch, I tried to hit fade,” Valimaki said of his tee shot at No. 18. “I don't know why, I normally hit just draws. So I tried to hit like perfect and just let it ride.

“I don't know, was it lucky or unlucky I hit the road? Stayed in play, then I take a penalty drop and then from there it was from the path to the grass (on a free drop from the cart path), and after that, I knew I only shot for me is to try to make 5 and finish for the second (place).”

Mikko Ilonen is widely regarded as Finland’s most successful professional golfer; Ilonen won five DP World Tour titles and reached No. 37 on the Official World Golf Ranking. Ilonen, who retired from professional golf in 2019 at age 39, also notched two top-10s in major championships.

Valimaki has competed in three majors, and he was on the doorstep of his first Masters invite Sunday at Vidanta Vallarta. That honor went to Knapp, but one shouldn’t be surprised if Valimaki finds another way to Augusta National. He proved Sunday that he won’t back down.