Sami Valimaki Makes HISTORY: First Finnish PGA TOUR Winner After Ice-Cold Clutch Finish!

Sami Valimaki just delivered one of the most historic moments in modern golf — becoming the first player from Finland to ever win on the PGA TOUR, capturing the 2025 RSM Classic with nerves of steel and a legendary 19-foot par save on the 16th.

In this incredible post-win press conference, Sami opens up about:

The pressure-packed 16th hole and why he chose putter from off the green

What it means to inspire a new generation of Finnish golfers

How close he once came to choosing hockey — and why golf became his path

His rise from DP World Tour hopeful to PGA TOUR champion

The heartbreak of past near-misses in Mexico and how they fueled his breakthrough

His time in mandatory Finnish military service (including two weeks camping in –25°C!)

Growing up around lakes and forests — a world away from Sea Island

Running into Tiger Woods for the first time and realizing he belonged on Tour

Goals for 2025, including cracking the top-50 and earning spots in all four majors

“Today… everything just clicked. This feels unbelievable for me — and for Finland.”

Watch the full reaction from the newest PGA TOUR champion and a trailblazer for Finnish golf.

👉 Subscribe for more PGA TOUR interviews, historic wins, and behind-the-scenes stories!

Okay, we’ll get started. We’d like to welcome Sammy Valamaki into the interview room. Our 2025 RSM Classic champion. He became becomes the fifth straight firsttime winner at the RSM Classic and he moves to number 51 in the FedEx Cup fall standings. Sammy, congratulations on your first PGA Tour victory and becoming the first player from Finland ever to win on tour. Can we get your thoughts? Of course. Thank you. I mean, yeah, it it has been great week. Uh, I can much say more than that. And yeah, pretty speechless, but it feels great. Uh, let’s take let’s go back to the 16th hole of par that you will remember for a long time. If you can take us through that hole and that 19 ft putt for par. Yeah, I mean the chipping hasn’t been my kind of favorite favorite shot and I haven’t used it this week much about it. And then I just felt like that today only comfortable was with my putter. So I I thought it like okay let’s give it a go outside the green and just give me the chance for make a four and after Patrick had a similar line from there and had a good read on that. So and just stay dead center. So it felt great. All right, we’ll open it up to questions. You’ll raise your hand. We’ll get a microphone to you. got start with Kevin. Hey Sammy, congratulations. Um, what’s it mean? You alluded to it in your post rounder on the green, but to be the first PGA Tour winner from Finland and be able to inspire kind of kids in Finland to chase dreams of playing professional golf. Yeah, I mean, I just wanted to have and show the people it’s possible from there. And then of course I want to have just more golfers for the golf in Finland. That’s my main goal. If young kids or even older people wants to play golf that’s go to Brenley in the middle. How does Finland and where you’re from compared to a place like Sea Island? Completely different. How so? Yeah. I mean we have more more kind of forest and a lot of lakes. I mean of course in the south and west side there is a there is a osome but other than that if you go even 100 miles from the Helsinki to north there is no more sea anymore and then uh if I could follow up I know you’re not that old but was there ever a point in your career whether it be professional or amateur um was there ever a point where you didn’t think that you you’d you you’d get here as a PJ tour winner? Yeah, I mean uh my goal was kind of just uh be DB World Tour player and win over there. So I did it in the fifth tournament over there and kind of that I felt like that was it. That was kind of like what just drive me and then kind of the opportunity 23 came up that first top 10 from there graduate over here and that kind of gives me the the new motivation for my career kind of get those top 10 cars and then last two years has been just my main goal get the win over here. Let’s go to Fergie. Sammy, the the runner-up finish in Mexico a few weeks ago in the Mexico Open a year ago. Um, do you look back at that? Was it disappointing at the time or was it in was it kind of motivation that you were getting close? Yeah, I would say the first one was disappointing. I felt like that was in my hands, but then it just little bit kind of slipped away. uh two weeks ago I kind of didn’t have a chance even I was kind of close but I feel like Ben he made those pots what I did today and I kind of needed needed that and of course my thing was just to make it for the next year and on Mexico and just get away from that and I feel like that that was kind of a good week already sorry you had already locked up your status for Europe Uh yeah. Yeah, it kind of like that was the week before the Mexico tournament. It kind of came up because it was I think I finished 114 and 115 made it. So that it was little little tight in the end, but yeah. All right, Gary, do you have a relationship with uh Viko Alon at all? Do you know him? Have you talked to him or met him? And yeah, we’ve been meeting of course he I think he was actually my first celebration dinner after my first win 2020. He was doing a little bit managing stuff. He already kind of finished his career. But after that when the co hit I haven’t seen him much but been still with talking and having some phone calls over him. Wonder did he uh give you any words of wisdom, advice, anything in particular that you can recall? Uh I think early when I kind of getting in the DB Wure that kind of he could you could always call him and ask like how you should do this or whatever but he kind of say as well that you have to learn it by your own way and I feel like that’s a good advice as well when you do little mistakes or find the good ways to do it that that kind of gives you confident especially when you’re doing the right things. Okay. And who was your hero in golf growing up? Uh, I really didn’t have any. No, I don’t. I have to say I mean Tiger Woods, of course, he was in early early 2000s when I when I was born, what I remember from that. But no, no. Back to Kevin. Um, what was it like having a few guys from Finland here to to celebrate with you kind of on the green and when you walked off? Yeah, I mean it it has been awesome. Uh they came on the Thursday and the first te and I knew it they coming. So we have been enjoying the whole week and did all the all the last four days the similar waves and I yeah of course they a lot of good friends of mine and we going to have a good time. And last um year could you describe what you were doing on this Sunday of this tournament a year ago when you were kind of sweating the bubble but you weren’t here cuz Yeah. Yeah. I was in a bubble, newborn baby. So, I I kind of had a new things in my life. I mean, of course, I wanted to wanted to keep my car, but I just couldn’t do it that time. Just needed to wait. All right, let’s go to Adam. Sammy, how did you get started in the game? Tell me about the course where you grew up playing. Uh yeah, I have to say my father took me to the range and that kind of started my my golf golf thing. And then I had a two really good friends who starting to play same time and we we had a like first five six year all the summer just three of us just playing a lot of lot of golf and then kind of from that I started playing more competitions and that’s how I get into it. How old were you when you started with that club? Uh, I think I was five. I get my kind of green card. I was ready to get it when I was six, but the my pro, he said that you need to be able to ride. So, it took for the one more year when he kind of really gave me the opportunity I have to do the uh ruling ruling thing where you need to have those answers. When did you think this might be a career and when did you start thinking about the PGA Tour? Yeah. Uh I think 2018 was the kind of the first that was my last last uh year as a amateur. I turned pro early 2019 but not much before that. Uh my my main goal was playing NHL. That was kind of my whole whole idea. But they didn’t pick me in the national team, so they picked me in the golf national team. So I said, “Okay, let’s give it the go for this one.” And this this road has been working out as well. All right, back to Brantley. Uh I was actually going to ask about hockey and your your brother obviously plays uh at a very high level. Um how how was your hockey game? What what what position did you play and how would you describe, you know, yourself on the ice? Yeah. Uh I was center uh forward. Uh I had a good good shoot. I I feel like I had a good chance over there. I feel like I just need a bit more bit more speed. Especially now when you look the guys, they just so so good. But I feel like I had a still good career over there if I would be giving a go. All right. Doug, just just staying with hockey for a minute. Is is your cousin still with Utah? Uh yeah, he’s Utah, but his knee is a little little issue. So he hasn’t able to play this year. So So when you’re when you’re developing as a golfer, I’m just curious what what did hockey players in Finland u think about golf? What was their perception of golf? Uh a lot of them I would say most of them like to play golf. So that’s a kind of nice thing. And I I would say so there has been many of those guys has been watching today. Secondly, with with um with this first tour win uh to go along with two in Europe, what is what is in your sights next? What would you like to achieve next? Uh I would say my main goal is still kind of get those signature tournaments, play whole year over there and get the four major kind of really on my calendar because that I mean of course you can say my target is the winning the majors but still I need to get them kind of every year in my calendar. Now it’s just kind of exemption one for the PGA or master. I never played even master so it’s hard to say that’s my goal to win. So I feel like next step is try to make it top 50 and get those all the all the bigger tournaments for in my calendar. All right. Anything else? Yep. Back to Adam. you get into a couple of the signature events for finishing in the AON next 10. What What do you think that means to you to be in those those big money events, some of them no cut? Yeah, I mean, of course, that was the goal for the week to make it inside top 60 and get those first two two events. And after that I at least I can kind of prepare for the for them play the first three and then probably get in the pebble beads and jes if I’m right. So that was going to be in the kind of the first five tournaments. What were some of the emotions you were feeling coming down the stretch? There were some guys coming charging behind you. Yeah, I I knew it because the wind wasn’t blowing that much like in the first 12 holes. So, I was actually surprised no one didn’t come earlier into kind of kind of give me the pressure. So, I was actually pretty happy to see I was still one of her for the for the guys and still had a 15 to play for and then I knew it. I just just got to make the birdie over here and then try to keep it for the last three for the par. What do you think the celebration will be like back home for this win? I I think it’s going to be good. Of course, it start to be night time over there, but some of them will will have a good time even today. All right, we’ll wrap with Doug in the back. I’m thinking back to to Wingfoot when you made your basically your first trip to America for the uh for the Open in in uh in 20. And if I remember correctly, you you ran into Tiger um and didn’t talk to him. You just smiled at him. Do you remember that? Uh I just remember that. That was kind of funny thing for me. I was in range and suddenly there was all the cameras was coming in. I was like, “Okay, there might be might be someone else coming.” They not coming to take the pictures for me and then I saw Tiger was hitting half an hour next to me the ball. So it was it was cool. I I only mentioned that at what at what point did you have a sense of belonging out here that you were you were good enough to to be playing? I felt like last year Tory Pines and then there was some other other decent finish before the Mexico. I felt like then I knew it like okay my game game is belongs over here and that kind of I feel like that gave me the boost for the last year’s Mexico tournament. And then lastly going back to your to your youth um you had mandatory military service right? Yeah. How long did that last? What was that like? So you’re going to go in I was kind of in the sports sports army. So they they had a little little bit more freedom for us like we could practice after the days or then we if you needed to do like a one week practice come they then you have to uh arrange it with them with the people but so you’re going to go there first two months you don’t even know if you’re going to be six n or 12 months. So they going to tell you you no no no chance to Of course you can try to get it in six months but they don’t tell you. Did you get the six? I got the six. Yeah. What um did you shoot anything? What was the worst part of it or the hardest part of it? I would say I mean right now I feel like that was the best part. In in that time we were staying two weeks in the middle of the forest and it was minus 20 25 degrees of course in Celsius. So I don’t know how much is that but just living in a tent two weeks in a row. I feel like that was that was hard time over there but now if you think back that was the best two weeks. What’s the coldest you’ve ever been on a golf course? Uh a couple times in Scotland they uh those tournaments they are cold over there. Must have felt like a breeze. Yeah. All right. Well, Sammy, congratulations once again. Thank you.