Sami Valimaki holds a two-shot lead on the RSM Traditional heading into the ultimate spherical because the 27-year-old Finnish golfer eyes a maiden PGA Tour title.
Valimaki rattled off four-straight birdies to shut out his entrance 9, carding a five-under 65 that pushed him two away from Michael Thorbjornsen and Patrick Rodgers in a share of second.
Valimaki has a pair of runner-up finishes to his identify, on the Mexico Open a yr in the past and tied for second within the World Huge Know-how Championship to Ben Griffin two weeks in the past in Baja, California.
Thorbjornsen and Rodgers, who every returned rounds of 68 on Saturday, are additionally pushing for what can be their first wins on tour.
Thorbjornsen was No 1 within the PGA Tour College rankings when he completed school in 2024, whereas Rodgers has performed 311 tournaments on the PGA Tour, with 4 runner-up finishes, over the previous decade.
“It’s just unfortunately in this game you can’t control the outcomes,” Rodgers mentioned. “I actually strive laborious to regulate the outcomes, but it surely would not work.
“I need to be the best version of myself that I can be, look to build a really quality golf game and trust that that’s going to give me the most opportunities throughout the season.”
Trailing chief Valimaki by three strokes are Zac Blair, Johnny Keefer and Andrew Novak, all tied on 16 below.
Blair should win to have any probability of ending within the high 100 within the FedEx Cup, whereas Keefer, the Korn Ferry Tour participant of the yr, who already has his PGA Tour card locked up for 2026, is offered with an awesome probability to remain contained in the world’s high 50 and earn a spot at The Masters subsequent yr.
Novak teamed up with Griffin to win the Zurich Traditional of New Orleans, however he has not gained a person title on the PGA Tour.
A lot of the season finale at Sea Island is concerning the race to complete on this planet’s high 100 and the final probability to retain a full PGA Tour card for subsequent yr.
Seamus Energy of Eire and Lee Hodges are presently in a tie for seventh and so may have an affordable probability, relying on how gamers forward of them fare.
Andrew Putnam, at 119th within the rankings, doubtlessly has extra of a struggle on his fingers after falling 10 spots down the leaderboard to seventeenth on Saturday.
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