Sami Valimaki ignored the assignment and made his own history at The RSM Classic.

The narrative of the season-ending stop of the 2025 PGA TOUR season focuses on the guys playing for their jobs, not necessarily who wins the tournament. A large chunk of the field of 156 needed only what Valimaki accomplished to secure fully exempt status in 2026, so it’s the 27-year-old Finn who hogs the headlines even though his card was secure.

In posting 23-under 259 at Sea Island Golf Club, Valimaki becomes the first from his country to capture a victory in PGA TOUR history. He finished one clear of Max McGreevy and two ahead of Ricky Castillo.

It’s Valimaki’s second podium finish of the FedExCup Fall (T2, World Wide Technology Championship) and third top-four finish of the season. With another 500 FedExCup points banked, he rose to 51st in the standings and atop the first phase of the Aon Next 10 for next season. So, in addition to exemptions into THE PLAYERS Championship and the PGA Championship that he snares, he can lock in travel plans for the first two Signature Events of 2026 – the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and The Genesis Invitational. He’s also exempt into the RBC Heritage as the last winner of 2025.

Valimaki also earned $1,260,000. Given his recent surge, there’s a good chance that you also cashed in commensurately, for he was a relatively beefy +4000 to prevail pre-tournament at FanDuel. Given the size and construct of the field, there was the gentlest of ascents in the market. In that context and given that he’s a two-time winner on the DP World Tour, it’s mildly surprising that he was long as a tie for 17th-shortest.

No FOMO

As I’ve been chronicling through the FedExCup Fall, Max McGreevy probably would have wanted to have his pumpkin pie and eat it, too. He won the Dunlop Phoenix in Japan a year ago after he had secured his 2025 PGA TOUR card. But he was a non-member at the time. Faced with needing to attend to his first priority for 2026, he didn’t guarantee his status until a T3 at the Butterfield Bermuda Championship, which was a little too late to consider a title defense in Japan as a realistic option.

As noted above, he finished solo second at Sea Island, one spot off, essentially replicating what he had achieved in a similar position a year ago (already fully exempt for the following season). His consolation is that it lifted him to 60th in the FedExCup and into the last spot of the Aon Next 10. He was also +4000 to win.

Heat stroke

While every shot counts the same, those taken at the finish line can feel more valuable or costly than, say, a made or missed eight-footer for par in the middle of May. That’s cliché in golf parlance, but it exists for a reason, and it emerges at this time every year.

Ricky Castillo opened his final round with a bogey-free 28 with seven birdies. It tied the season low for any front or back side on the PGA TOUR. He went ahead and carded a career-best 62, but the rookie landed a single stroke short of yielding the FedExCup points that would have propelled him from 135th in the standings and into the top 100. Alas, he finishes 102nd and just under 10 points outside the bubble.

He posted from the eighth-to-last threesome, so he gave investors in at +10000 to win a bit of a thrill.

This, that and the other

• With Harris English (+2200) and Brian Harman (+2500) in the field, if you had guessed that either was the favorite at FanDuel, you’d have been wrong. In fact, it was Michael Thorbjornsen at +2000, which is somewhat long in a full field. The 2024 PGA TOUR University valedictorian threatened until he didn’t, checking up in an 11-way tie for seventh place. (There were, count ‘em, 17 top-10 finishers!) English finished T47, while Harman missed the cut on the number.
• Nico Echavarria (+3500) also played his way into the Aon Next 10. With his slice of a three-way T4, he rose seven spots to 55th. In sum, Valimaki, Echavarria and McGreevy displaced Jordan Spieth (61st), Jake Knapp (63rd) and Kevin Yu (64th). None of the three who were ousted competed at Sea Island.
• Michael Brennan (+3000) held onto his spot at 98th with a T51. While the breakthrough winner of the Bank of Utah Championship is fully exempt through 2027, he now officially qualifies as a PGA TOUR rookie in 2025. Had he slipped outside the top 100, he wouldn’t have exhausted his rookie eligibility because he didn’t make at least 10 starts as a PGA TOUR member. So, the 2025 rookie class is officially closed with 36 members.

What were the odds?

With all 46 tournaments in the books, this is how the pre-tournament odds at FanDuel for all winners shook out.

All tournaments

• Average odds: +6039
• Median odds: +4450
• Shortest odds: +210 (Scottie Scheffler, Procore Championship)
• Longest odds: +40000 (Brian Campbell, John Deere Classic)

Only Signature Events, majors and THE PLAYERS Championship (13 tournaments)

• Average odds: +2652
• Median odds: +1800
• Shortest odds: +280 (Scottie Scheffler, Memorial Tournament presented by Workday)
• Longest odds: +12000 (J.J. Spaun, U.S. Open)

All of the other 33 tournaments

• Average odds: +7373
• Median odds: +6000
• Shortest odds: +210 (Scottie Scheffler, Procore Championship)
• Longest odds: +40000 (Brian Campbell, John Deere Classic)

That’s the ticket!

This section reflects which bets endorsed by the Golfbet team cashed and where you could find them.

Q: Was the winner in my Power Rankings?

A: Yes. “No. 15 – Sami Valimaki. After a T2 at the World Wide Technology Championship that cemented a spot inside the top 100 of the FedExCup, the Finn was poised for a letdown. Instead, he held on for a T18 in Bermuda. It was his eighth top 20 of the season.”

Mike Glasscott’s DraftKings Props

• Zac Blair (T7) – Top 20 (+500)

Brad Thomas’ betting preview

• Michael Thorbjornsen (T7) – Top 10 (+320)

Expert Picks

Chris Breece

• Sami Valimaki (Win) – Winner (+6000)

Jimmy Reinman

• Sami Valimaki (Win) – Top Nordic (+340)

For resources to overcome a gambling problem, call or text 1-800-522-4700 today.