Golf: Sami Välimäki gets to the big tournament again – the place opened up through the back gate

The British Open championship tournament (The Open) will be played from 16 to 19 July at the Royal Birkdale field in Southport, England. It will be held for the 154th time.

Välimäki, 27, earned himself a place through the world ranking when the empty spots in the tournament were filled. Välimäki is ranked 71st in the most recent world list, when the player ranked 76th was included.

Välimäki has played in the tournament twice before. In 2023, he reached a shared 68th place. A year later, the trip was cut short after the first two rounds.

Välimäki has already qualified for the third of this year’s four major tournaments. He only failed to qualify for the US Open championship tournament played in mid-June.

In total, the prestigious tournament is Välimäki’s ninth career.

Välimäki is in his third season playing on the PGA Tour. Last year, he was the first Finn to win a PGA tour tournament.

He has already earned more than 5.2 million dollars in prize money on the tour, which corresponds to around 4.55 million euros at the current exchange rate.