Sami Valimaki became the third Finn to win on the European Tour after his dramatic play-off win over Brandon Stone, to claim the Oman Open at Al Mouj. Picture by GETTY IMAGES

SAMI Valimaki won his first European Tour title as he defeated Brandon Stone in a play-off to lift the trophy at the 2020 Oman Open.

Just six months ago the unknown Finn was playing at the third tier of professional golf in Continental Europe – now he has a winner’s exemption on the European Tour until the end of 2022.

A delighted Valimaki, who joins Mikko Illonen and Mikko Korhonnen as Finnish winners on the European Tour, said: “It’s awesome. There are not many words to say, it’s unbelievable.

“After the ninth hole when I made a double I knew that the 10th hole is good and I had to make a birdie on that,” said Sami Valimaki.

“I didn’t make a really good par on 11 and after that bogey I felt like, ‘okay this is gone’. But then I just grinded, made three birdies and on the last – an awesome birdie.

“I just needed to hit the fairways and the greens, it doesn’t matter how long you leave yourself, but you have to be on the green and get the chance to make the putt.

“I am feeling relaxed because I managed to get the birdies and gave myself that opportunity to win.

“I thought I was going to miss the putt on the last in regulation it but thank god it went to the hole and gave me the chance to win the tournament.

“It is great that more Finnish golfers are doing well in the sport and golf is getting more popular there in Finland.”

Valimaki had a stunning 2019 on the Pro Golf Tour, winning four times including three consecutive starts at the end of the season.

The 21-year-old claimed his card at November’s Qualifying School in Spain, and after securing a first top 10 the ISPS Handa Vic Open, he is now a winner in just his sixth European Tour event.

The Finn was outside the top 100 after day one at Al Mouj Golf. But a stunning 64 in round three put him alongside Stone in a six-way tie for the lead with 18 holes to play.

In difficult, breezy conditions by the coast, both Stone and Valimaki had held the lead on their own during the final day.

But it was Adrien Saddier who set the clubhouse target at 12-under, and the Frenchman calmly headed to the range to await the final groups completing their rounds.

But Stone put paid to Saddier’s hopes of a first win by getting to 13–under celebrating wildly as he holed a 20-footer on the last.

And there was more drama to come as Valimaki holed from similar range for his own closing birdie and a round of 70 to take the contest to extra holes – despite that double at the turn.

The duo halved the last in pars twice – but when Stone sent his second shot crashing into the stand on the third trip, and failed to get up and down, a par was enough to hand Valimaki victory.

Stone search for win No. 4 goes on

STONE was taking positives from the result despite losing his first play-off and coming up short in his bid for a fourth European title since the start of 2016.

He had spoken earlier in the week about how happy he was with work the South African, and his support team, had undertaken since last year to take his game to the next level.

“Obviously I’m a little disappointed but I’m really proud with how I played over the last four days,” said Stone – one of just 15 players to have won a Rolex Series event, thanks to his 2018 Scottish Open win.

“It feels like I’m closer again,” said Stone. “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,” added Stone, who finished sixth at the 2015 Challenge Tour Grand Final at Al Mouj Golf, to earn his graduation to the European Tour.

“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.”

Italian Guido Migliozzi and Korhonen finished at 11-under, two shots clear of Spaniard Alejandro Cañizares, South African George Coetzee, Danish teenager Rasmus Højgaard and Wiltshire’s Jordan Smith.

•For final results in the Oman Open click here.

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Rasmus Højgaard – who won his first European Tour event in Mauritius in December – is tied for the lead with Stephen Gallagher in Oman. Picture by GETTY IMAGES

RASMUS Højgaard and Stephen Gallacher both proved that age is just a number as they shared a one-shot lead heading into the weekend at the Oman Open.

The duo may be 27 years apart in age, but there was nothing to separate them at Al Mouj Golf.

They both reached nine-under after 36 holes, one shot ahead of Belgian Nicolas Colsaerts and Finland’s Kalle Samooja.

Danish 18-year-old Højgaard became the third youngest winner in European Tour history when he won his debut event at the AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open before Christmas.

And the teenager carded a 68 with an eagle, five birdies and three bogeys to move to the top of the leaderboard in the Middle East.

Gallacher – whose son and caddie Jack was born nine days before Højgaard – has four European Tour wins in his 45 years.

And the Ryder Cup winner, from Linlithgow, went one better with a bogey free 67 – his first blemish free round since the 2018 Alfred Dunhill Links Championship.

Gallacher, who was part of Paul McGinley’s winning European team at Gleneagles, in 2014, said: “I’m delighted because it was tough from the get-go this morning.

“It was windy and it never really dropped so it was a tough morning with the first four holes straight into the wind.

“This is a great golf course and one of the best we play all year, but it’s very demanding and you’ve got to play good golf.

“If you don’t, you’ll get found out and fortunately I’m playing pretty well at the moment.

“We were all feeding off each other, certainly Kalle was on fire. He posted seven-under with a bogey and a triple.

“And Richard McEvoy is a good friend of mine. So we had a good laugh together and just enjoyed the round.

“I had been struggling a bit recently, so I changed some things up and I’ve worked hard on my game.

“Things started to turn around at the Saudi International where I started to hit some good shots and it’s amazing how it can snowball after that,” added Stephen Gallacher.

“You start to chip and putt a bit better and start to compete, and hopefully by Sunday you just want to be in with a chance coming down the stretch to win.

“It’s a good spot to be in but there’s still a lot of golf to be played over the weekend,” said the Scotsman, who helps support junior golf in the Lothians and Border regions through his Stephen Gallacher Foundation.

Gallacher’s last win came in last year’s Hero Indian Open when he survived making a snowman to clinch his first win in first years on the European Tour.

Dutchman Joost Luiten – the 2018 champion – Essex’s McEvoy and fellow Englishman Robert Rock, Italy’s Guido Migliozzi and South African Brandon Stone were three shots off the lead.

Højgaard is looking to repeat the successs of last year’s Oman winner Kurt Katiyama, who claimed the second win of his rookie season at Al Mouj – while Migliozzi also recorded two wins in 2019.

Rasmus said: “You can’t avoid bogeys out here, so I knew at some point I would drop a shot because in this wind it’s tricky to keep the ball on the greens and fairways. But I managed to bounce back with a few birdies.

“I’m putting well at the moment and I holed some long putts today which always helps.

“It’s always a bit of a bonus when you make a few of them. And that’s been the key so far.

“I don’t do much away from the course, I hang out with my fellow Danes, do some gym work. Otherwise I watch some stuff online – anything on Netflix.”

Gagli beats Coronavirus scare to chase Gallacher and Højgaard

LORENZO Gagli overcame his coronavirus scare to move into contention at five-under after the 34-year-old Italian followed an opening round of 69 with a second round of 70.

The Italian had only been cleared to tee it up on Thursday morning after his test results for coronavirus (COVID-19) came back negative.

The Omani Ministry of Health subsequently cleared both players to leave self-isolation and participate in the tournament at 12.15pm after the negative result.

Due to the exceptional circumstances, they were reinstated as an addition to the field in Muscat and teed off as a two-ball at 1.30pm.

Gagli posted four birdies in his opening round and bogeyed the 17th hole before fading light stopped play.

He resumed with a closing par on Friday morning for a round of 69 and then carded five birdies and two bogeys in second round of 70 to move to five-under par, four shots adrift of the lead.

Gagli said: “It was a strange situation but I would like to thank all the European Tour staff, including Keith Pelley, tournament director Miguel Vidaor and my friend Paolo de le Feld from player relations, as well as the Ministry of Health in Oman, who have done an unbelievable job because I’m playing the tournament now.

“It was a strange situation but I’m really happy to be out on the course and playing golf.

“After the test came back negative and I found out I could play, when I was on the course I felt really relaxed, which helped me a lot.

“Playing with Edoardo helped too because we are really good friends. Our game is very similar, so it has been easier to play over the last two days.”

Molinari also made the cut after adding a 72 to his first round 70.

Germany’s Martin Kaymer recorded the first hole-in-one in tournament history and the fifth of the 2020 Race to Dubai season when he holed a pitching wedge from 162 yards at the 13th.

•Follow the progress of Stephen Gallacher and Rasmus Højgaard in the third round through live scoring by clicking here.

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Two-time European Tour winner Guido Migliozzi recorded his first bogey-free round since the Turkish Airlines Open, in November, to lead the Oman Open after the first round.
Picture by GETTY IMAGES

GUIDO Migliozzi fired a flawless round of 66 to rediscover his form and take the first round lead at the 2020 Oman Open.

The Italian has two European Tour wins from his stunning rookie year on the Race to Dubai last season.

But Migliozzi missed his first three cuts of the 2020 campaign and arrived at Al Mouj Golf without a bogey-free round since the Turkish Airlines Open in November.

The 23-year-old showed his class that week in Antalya as he achieved his first top 10 in a Rolex Series event.

And during round one in the desert he once again showed why he is a major rising star on the European Tour.

A delighted Migliozzi said: “It’s very good to start the tournament with a 66 and a bogey free round.

“It’s a good feeling to work my way into this beautiful course and tournament.

“Obviously, I will try to give my best over the week and for the rest of the year,” added the winner of the Magical Kenya Open and the Belgian Knockout.

“I think the whole course is good. It’s tricky because the greens are tough and tight and there are a lot of things which need your attention – like the wind and the release of the ball.

“You can play each hole in a few different styles and it’s really cool and all the players are really happy to play here,” added Guido Migliozzi.

“It’s a good feeling to be a European Tour winner already. I like to win, and I hope one day will come when I win again.”

Migliozzi’s six birdies moved him to six-under, one shot ahead of 18-year-old Dane Rasmus Højgaard, South Korean Taehee Lee and South Africa’s Brandon Stone.

Rasmus Højgaard – who won on his European Tour debut as a pro in his first start in Mauritius in December – said: “The conditions when I started out were a bit tricky.

“The wind was up a little bit so it was a bit of a battle but I got through it.

“This course is quite wide from the tee box, which is very nice, and I’m putting well.

“You have to have good speed on the greens out here because you’re going to be faced with some long putts. That was the key today.

“It might have come as a little surprise that I won so early on the European Tour, but I was playing well in my last year as an amateur – and I carried that confidence into the professional game.

“My goal this year is to be the Rookie of the Year and have multiple wins, so that’s what I’m chasing.”

Of course, last year’s winner in Oman was Kurt Kitayama who recorded his second win in his rookie season at Al Mouj – a feat matched last summer by Migliozzi.

Will that be a good portent for young Dane, whose twin brother Nicolai – another very promising prospect – is in the field in Oman?

Stone, who won his first Rolex Series event at the 2018 Scottish Open, said: “I’m always going to have a soft spot for this golf course.

“This is where I earned my playing rights from the Challenge Tour, so I have some history here and I played nicely here last year too.

“I love the course – it’s in my top five in the world, if I’m being honest, and every year coming back is an absolute pleasure.

“Last year was a fantastic year for me – even though the results weren’t there – because we put a lot of structure in place, physically and mentally.

“We did it to transform me as a person as well as a golfer, and I feel like the base work is there at the moment. My game feels fantastic and I’m feeling physically the best I ever have.

There is a group of eight players at four-under including former Ryder Cup players Victor Dubuisson, Ross Fisher, Stephen Gallacher and Andy Sullivan.

Joost Luiten – the 2018 champion – is in a group of 10 players at three -under, with five players returning to complete their finals holes on Friday morning due to darkness.

•For live scoring in the second round click here.

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Martin Kaymer is pleased to have caddy Craig Connolly back on his bag as he attempts to return to the winner’s circle for the first time since 2014. Picture by GETTY IMAGES

MARTIN Kaymer is hoping to continue his strong start to the 2020 Race to Dubai as he makes his debut at the Oman Open this week.

The German has finished in the top 20 in his three events so far as he looks to change his consistency of the last two seasons into the sort of form that made him the best in the world at the start of the last decade.

The 35-year-old already has a career that would stand up in any era, winning the Race to Dubai and two Major Championships.

He also reached No. 1 in the Official World Golf Rankings and holed the vital putt as Europe completed the Miracle of Medinah in the 2012 Ryder Cup – an event he would like to feature in in Wisconsin, in September, for obvious reasons.

After changing the trajectory of his driving to get more length off the tee, Kaymer has now turned his attention to his putting in his quest for a first win since the 2014 US Open at Pinehurst – happy that he has on old friend back on the bag as well.

The player who won his first ever Challenge Tour event in 2006, is focused on doing the work to get back to the top, starting this week at Al Mouj Golf.

Kaymer said: “I was just going with the flow the last two or three years and took my game for granted a little bit.

“I didn’t really work on one specific thing and the last few years it was quite clear where my weakness was in my game as I was losing a lot of shots on the green.

“Outside 10 feet I couldn’t make a putt and that led to me not scoring and shooting those low scores that give you an opportunity on the Sunday.

“I worked a lot on the short game over the winter and I also wanted to drive the ball further without screwing up my natural shot, and that takes some planning and communicating with the coach.

“For me, it was more of the mentality of continuing that process as I knew what the other outcome was and that didn’t quite work out for me the last two years.

“I wanted to and needed to change something and become an even more complete player to try and win tournaments again,” added Kaymer, who has also reunited with his old caddy Craig Connelly.

“I really miss that feeling,” Kaymer added. “This year I have a very good plan and I’m trying to qualify for all the big events such as the Ryder Cup, Olympic Games, Masters and The Open Championship.

“I’ve played in all those events before, but this year that’s not going to be the case so it’s something I’m looking forward to try and achieve.

“I can’t really tell you where my game is at right now, which is the exciting thing.” said Kaymer, whose second Major win came in that US Open victory at Pinehurst.

“I know I’m doing the right thing but I’ve just got be patient and let it happen.

“The expectations are quite high because you’re doing everything right and hitting 63 in a practice round.

“But you still need to do that in a tournament so it’s just a matter of time.”

Kaymer is convinced Connelly’s return will help that process.

“It’s nice once you’ve found somebody that you’ve been through the good and the bad times with” he revealed.

“More of the good times really, because we started working together in 2010 and I had a good few years – and he really understands me as a person.

“It’s more about the personality and finding someone that you get along with, understands you and what your goals are.

“He understands that and knows what I’m capable of so it’s nice to be reminded of that sometimes as you forgot.”

“We tend to focus on the things that we aren’t doing great,” said the winner of the 2010 USPGA at Whistling Straits – the venue for the 2020 Ryder Cup.

“But sometimes you need to be reminded of what you have already done in your career and good of a player you are.

“He is a very positive person and that has really helped me,” said Kaymer.

•To follow live scoring in the first round in Oman, click here.

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Holland’s Joost Luiten won the Oman Open two years ago and rates Greg Norman’s Al Mouj Golf course as one of the best the European Tour plays on. Picture by GETTY IMAGES

JOOST Luiten is hoping to draw on the good memories of his victory at Al Mouj Golf two years ago, when he returns to one of his favourite courses on the calendar for the 2020 Oman Open.

The Dutchman got the better of Chris Wood in a final day battle to win the inaugural edition of the Omani event in 2018, before finishing in a tie for 12th last year.

The 34-year-old, who has six European Tour wins to his name over the last nine years, is a big fan of this week’s host course – and is hopeful his experience will serve him well as he seeks victory number seven.

Luiten said: “I’m feeling good. It’s always good to come back to a golf course where you’ve won, where you have good memories, where you know you can play well.

“I love this golf course. It’s one of the best golf courses I think we play all year. It’s in great condition, the greens are firm and quick.

“It’s going to be a good test. You just need to strike it well. If you can hit the fairways and you can hit the greens from there, you can make a good score.

“But if you struggle off the tee, this is going to be a really tough golf course to play.

“It’s always great to win a tournament, especially when you can relax on the 18th and enjoy it – and that’s what I tried to do,” added Joost Lutien, whose maiden European Tour win came in the co-sanctioned Iskandar Johor Open, in Malaysia, in 2011.

“Hopefully I can take those good vibes out on the golf course this week again.

“I can remember the last day. It was a fun day and I had a great start, making three birdies on the first four holes to go three clear.

“And then it became a battle between me and Woody – obviously a good friend of mine.

“We didn’t play in the same group, but I can remember I was watching the group in front to see what he was doing – and he bogeyed the 17th to give me a little bit of air to go down the 18th two shots clear,” added Joost Luiten.

Defending champion Kurt Kitayama is not defending his title in Oman – he now has status on the PGA Tour and is playing at the Honda Open, at PGA National, in Palm Beach Gardens.

Stone another big fan of Al Mouj

THREE-time European Tour winner Brandon Stone also has fond memories of Muscat as he makes his fifth appearance in the Oman capital this week.

Stone said: “Oman is fantastic. What a design of a golf course that is – when people ask me what’s my favourite course on the European Tour, Al Mouj Golf is definitely up there. It’s simply fantastic.

“I played it during my time on the Challenge Tour and the design of the course is timeless.

“Greg Norman has done an incredible job there. Coming back is really fun.

“I love the place, the people, the golf course, the town of Muscat so I’m very excited to be back here.”

“Generally, when playing golf in the Middle East, driving is important.

“You’ve got to get a decent amount of carry through the air and with a lot of bunkers sitting around 280-290 yards off the tee it’s important to find the fairway – and that applies to this course, too.”

Aside from his two European Tour appearances in the Sultanate, the South African enjoyed top 10 finishes twice when the event was on the Challenge Tour schedule.

The 26-year-old finished tied fourth in 2013 at Al Mouj Golf before a sixth placed finish in the Challenge Tour Grand Final two years later helped him on his way to 14th in the rankings.

That secured Stone’s European Tour playing privileges for the following season.

•To see the first round tee times in the Oman Open, click here.

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