Sami Valimaki is now the answer to a trivia question.
Who is the first—and only—player from Finland to win on the PGA Tour?
Achieving that feat at the RSM Classic brought the 27-year-old to tears.
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“That’s why the emotions come up,” Valimaki said on the 18th green. “… I hope I can bring more golfers from Finland.”
Valimaki won the PGA Tour’s last official event of the year by a stroke over Max McGreevy, finishing at 27 under. With a final-round 4-under 66, he became the 17th first-time winner on Tour this year.
MORE: Final results, payouts from RSM Classic
This was a long time coming for Valimaki. He began playing a mini-tour in Europe called the Pro Golf Tour in 2019. Then he went to the Challenge Tour, followed by the DP World Tour, before earning a PGA Tour card for 2024.
“It has been a long road, of course,” said Valimaki, who has made 54 Tour starts. “I feel like, kind of how the last year taught me, I feel like it’s a really tough year even when I kind of played decent golf, and then to keep pushing and find some good grooves in the last few tournaments, so it feels amazing.”
Putter kiss to seal the victory 🏆 pic.twitter.com/cLsOyoarU5
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) November 23, 2025
There was more at stake than a victory, though.
With the RSM Classic being the last of seven FedEx Cup Fall events, the top 100 at the end of Sunday earned full status for 2026, if not already exempt. The top 125, meanwhile, secured conditional status, and those between Nos. 51-70 got spots in the next two $20 million, no-cut signature events (Valimaki moved to 51st and McGreevy to 60th, up 29 spots).
That yielded an abundance of emotions.
Lee Hodges entered the week at No. 121 in the FedEx Cup standings. By the time he was playing his 72nd hole at Sea Island, he was 101st. Needing a birdie to secure his card, he hit his second shot on the par-4 18th to 10 feet, but narrowly missed the putt.
“I played so well all week,” the 30-year-old said after finishing T4. “Yeah, I mean, I was in a bad spot coming in here, but played myself into a nice spot, honestly.”
Coming up just short.
Lee Hodges misses his final birdie bid and finishes just outside the top 100 at 101st in the #FedExCup Fall. pic.twitter.com/2un2SjCvwR
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) November 23, 2025
Just ahead of him in the standings were No. 95 Ryo Hisatsune, No. 96 Thorbjørn Olesen, No. 97 Danny Walker and No. 99 Takumi Kanaya. They all missed the cut, but nobody from the outside was able to play their way into the top 100.
Ricky Castillo was so close, though. The 24-year-old Californian, who came into the week No. 135, shot a final-round 62, firing a 28 on the front. To regain his card, he needed a three-way finish of T2 or better.
That would have happened without McGreevy’s birdie on the final hole to cap a final-round 62. So instead, Castillo finished 102nd in points after a solo third.
“I really didn’t feel much pressure,” Castillo said. “It was kind of like I really didn’t have anything to lose. I came into the week at 135 or 136, so basically, moving down wasn’t going to do anything. Moving up was the only thing that was going to affect my year next year. I didn’t really have any pressure because I really had nothing to lose; I was just kind of going out there and playing golf.”
One thing is for sure, though: The final day of the PGA Tour in 2025 produced high-stakes drama. There should be more where that came from in 2026.
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