Sami Valimaki

Sami Välimäki finished runner-up to Dan Bradbury at the Joburg Open in November 2022, the first event of The Open Qualifying Series with three Royal Liverpool spots on offer.

A member of the Finland side which won the 2018 European amateur team championships, Valimaki also represented them in that year’s Eisenhower Trophy world championship and played for Continental Europe as they beat Britain and Ireland at the St Andrews Trophy.

Having reached as high as 10th on the world amateur rankings, he turned professional the following season on completing his military service and before the end of the year had won four times on the ProGolf circuit and once on the Finnish Tour.

With an eighth-place finish at the DP World Tour qualifying school he stepped straight up and in only his fifth start of the 2020 season lifted the Oman Open at the third hole of a play-off against Brandon Stone.

Välimäki defeated Jorge Campillo in a play-off to win the Qatar Masters in October 2023, his second DP World Tour title. He then finished runner-up to Jake Knapp at the Mexico Open in February 2024.