In recent years, the RSM Classic has served as a coming-out party for the winners. Talor Gooch won his first Tour victory there in 2021 and then had a career year at LIV. Ludvig Aberg matched this feat in 2023 before rising to become a top-10 player. And Mav McNealy did the same thing last fall before posting a career-best season in 2025.
If this trend continues, Sami Valimaki will be in luck.
Finland’s Valimaki won the 2025 edition of the RSM Classic on Sunday, capping his one-stroke win with a four-under 66 in the final round. The victory is the first on the PGA Tour for the 27-year-old, as he becomes the first-ever winner from his native country.
“That’s why the emotions come up,” Valimaki said. “I hope I can bring more golfers from Finland.”
Valimaki led the day alone after rounds of 66, 62 and 65 over the first three rounds, and to earn his first win he had to repeat that set play. Luckily for him, he did just that. Over the course of the final 18 holes, Valimaki hit five birdies and just one bogey on his way to a four-under 66.
The win caps off a stellar final month of the fall season, which saw Valimaki finish T2 at the World Wide Technologies Championship, along with another top-20 showing at the Butterfield Bermuda Championship. With the win, Valimaki not only takes home a winner’s check worth $1.26 million, but also secures a two-year exemption that will keep him on Tour through the entire 2027 season.
“It’s been a long road,” Valimaki said. “I feel like it’s a really tough year, even if I’ve been playing pretty good golf, and then I just have to keep pushing and find some good grooves in the last few tournaments, so it feels great.”
If he can match the success of other RSM Classic winners after their victories, the best is yet to come.
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