SIMMONS ISLAND, Ga. — Finland’s Sami Valimäki made four straight birdies to close out the front nine with a 5-under 65 and a two-shot lead on Saturday at the RSM Classic, the final round of the PGA Tour season.
The final race of the season at Sea Island may be the last chance to hold onto a full card for next year’s PGA Tour. It was a chance for the players to win their first PGA Tour title.
Valimaki shot 19-under 193, two spots ahead of Michael Thorbjornsen and Patrick Rodgers (68 each), both of whom are Stanford graduates a generation apart.
When Rodgers left Stanford in 2014, he was the No. 1 amateur in the world. Thorbjornsen was No. 1 in the PGA Tour college rankings when he graduated from college in 2024.
Rogers has played in 311 tournaments on the PGA Tour and has four runner-up finishes, including a playoff loss to Charles Howell III at Sea Island in 2018.
“Unfortunately, we can’t control the outcome in this game,” Rodgers said. “I’m trying hard to control the results, but it’s not working. I need to be the best I can be and try to build a really quality golf game, which I believe will give me the most opportunities throughout the season.”
Zach Blair (64) is in the group three strokes behind, and he needs a win to have a chance to break into the top 100 in the FedEx Cup.
Also in 196th place at 16 under were Andrew Novak (70) and Korn Ferry Tour Player of the Year Johnny Keefer (67). Kiefer’s card is locked until 2026, but he has a great chance to remain in the top 50 in the world to qualify for the Masters.
Novak teamed up with Ben Griffin to win the Zurich Classic of New Orleans, but has never won an individual title on the PGA Tour.
Valimaki began his breakthrough by hitting a 12-foot shot for birdie on the par-3 sixth hole. He reached the green in two on the par-5 seventh hole, pushed his wedge to 18 inches on the eighth hole, and pushed his approach to three feet on the ninth hole.
“There was no applause this week, so when I heard the applause I thought it must be pretty close,” Valimaki said.
He has been a runner-up twice, both times south of the border. Valimaki was runner-up at the Mexican Open a year ago and tied for second with Griffin at the Worldwide Technology Championship in Baja California two weeks ago.
As for the race and pressure to finish inside the top 100 to earn a PGA Tour card? Ireland’s Seamus Power (65) and Lee Hodges (66) are tied for seventh and could have a good chance depending on the form of the players in front of them.
Andrew Putnam is 119th. He shot a 69 and it was like the slightest bit of wind would set him back. Putnam fell 10 spots off the leaderboard to tie for 17th place.
