Finland's Sami Valimaki captured his first PGA Tour title by winning The RSM Classic with an extraordinary final day of 66 (-4 on the par-70 Seaside Course), edging out his closest rivals by just one shot.
Valimaki, 26, thus became the first Finnish player to win on the PGA Tour. Starting with a two-shot lead, he handled the final stretch with composure. The wind, which shifted direction and picked up strength in the late afternoon, never troubled him.
Sami Valimaki, results
The battle to maintain or earn a full membership for 2026 was much more dramatic: this year, only the top 100 in the FedExCup (no longer 125 as in the past) have a full membership.
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Ricky Castillo shot 28 shots on the front nine (-7) and finished with a 62 (-8), confident he had moved well into the top 100 (he was 135th). Max McGreevy responded with a 63 (-7) thanks to a 30-foot birdie on the final hole, which moved him into second place alone and guaranteed him the first two Signature Events of 2026. That birdie dropped Castillo to 102nd place, less than 10 points from the cut. Immediately afterward, Lee Hodges missed a 10-foot birdie putt by inches that would have given him the card: par and 66 strokes left him 101st, just 2 points from 100th place. The players who occupied positions 95-100 before the event remained unchanged: none of the "bubble boys" managed to overtake those ahead.
For Valimaki, the prize is enormous: two years of full exemption on the PGA Tour, ranking No. 51 in the FedExCup and guaranteed access to the first two $20 million Signature Events of 2026 (The Sentry and the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am).
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"It was a very tough season, even though I played decent golf. Keeping pushing and finding the right rhythm in the last few tournaments is an incredible feeling."
Max McGreevy, already with the card in his pocket, climbed to 60th place, thus overtaking Jordan Spieth (absent this fall), who will now have to apply for a sponsor invitation to Pebble Beach and the Genesis Invitational.
Nico Echavarria finished tied for fourth and secured a spot in the Signature Events on the West Coast.
Sam Stevens' hole-in-one on the third hole (a par-3 of about 200 yards) with a 9-iron is noteworthy: he closed with a 63 and shared seventh place in a packed field of 11 players. Stevens, ranked 48th in the world, remains in contention to remain among the OWGR's top 50 at the end of the year and earn a spot in the 2026 Masters.
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The RSM Classic officially closes the 2025 FedExCup Fall.ly as an amateur last year, is returning to the pro ranks.
