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Sami Välimäki won the Oman Open on Sunday, defeating Brandon Stone in a playoff at Al Mouj Golf in the port city of Muscat.
Välimäki, a 21-year-old Finn playing in his sixth European Tour event, and Stone, a 26-year-old South African, played three playoff holes – the par-4 18th each time – before Välimäki made par to Stone’s bogey to claim the title. They had tied at the top of the leaderboard with 72-hole scores of 13-under 275.
Frenchman Adrien Saddier set the clubhouse mark at 12 under after a closing 69, but Stone and Välimäki closed with 70s, with both making lengthy putts on the final hole of regulation play to get to 13 under.
Välimäki earned his European Tour card through Qualifying School in 2019. Before reaching the European Tour he played on the Pro Golf Tour, where he posted four victories, including three in a row to end the season.
Välimäki built quick momentum in 2020 with a top-10 finish at the ISPS Handa Vic Open in early February. And now, he can call himself a European Tour winner.
“It’s awesome,” he said. “There are not many words to say, it’s unbelievable. After the ninth hole when I made a double (bogey), I knew that the 10th hole is good and I had to make a birdie on that.
“I didn’t make a ... par on 11 and after that bogey I felt like, ‘OK, this is gone.’ But then I just grinded, made three birdies (including) on the last, an awesome birdie.”
Stone was in pursuit of his fourth European Tour victory and his first since the 2018 Aberdeen Standard Investments Scottish Open.
“Obviously I’m a little disappointed but I’m really proud with how I played over the last four days,” he said. “It feels like I’m closer again. My confidence and swing are starting to come back. I’m feeling really comfortable and unfortunately I came up a little shy but the best thing about our job is I get to try again on Thursday.
“We’re professional sportsmen and full of emotion which showed with my putt on the 18th in regulation. I knew I needed to hole that to give myself a sniff. I managed to get it done. We leave it all out on the line, a lot of time and effort goes into this.”
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