Thomas Aiken

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Thomas Aiken
Thomas Aiken.JPG
Personal information
Full nameThomas Edward Aiken
Born (1983-07-16) 16 July 1983 (age 41)
Johannesburg, South Africa
Height5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Weight150 lb (68 kg; 11 st)
Sporting nationalityFlag of South Africa.svg  South Africa
ResidenceJohannesburg, South Africa
Tequesta, Florida
Career
Turned professional2002
Current tour(s) European Tour
Sunshine Tour
Web.com Tour
Former tour(s) PGA Tour
Professional wins11
Highest ranking 73 (8 May 2011) [1]
Number of wins by tour
European Tour3
Asian Tour1
Sunshine Tour8
Other1
Best results in major championships
Masters Tournament DNP
PGA Championship CUT: 2011, 2012
U.S. Open T25: 2015
The Open Championship T7: 2012
Achievements and awards
Sunshine Tour
Order of Merit winner 		2014

Thomas Edward Aiken (born 16 July 1983) is a South African professional golfer who plays on the European Tour and Sunshine Tour.

Contents

Career

Following a successful amateur career, which included being named the South African Amateur of the Year in 2001, Aiken turned professional at the start of 2002. In 2004, he won three times on the Sunshine Tour's Winter Swing. The following year, he topped the money list on the Winter Swing with two further victories.

In 2007, Aiken competed on the Nationwide Tour, but made only three cuts, with a best finish of tied 13th in the Price Cutter Charity Championship. He gained his European Tour card for 2008 through the qualifying school, and went on to finish 131st in the money list, with a best of tied 13th in the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, his only finish inside the top-30.

The 2009 season saw Aiken register his maiden top-10 finish on the European Tour, with a tied 4th in the Alfred Dunhill Championship, having led going into the final day after a course record 61 in the third round. [2] That, along with several other top-10 finishes, including a win in the Platinum Classic, meant Aiken ended the 2008 Sunshine Tour in third place on the Order of Merit.

A number of top-10 finishes on the European Tour in 2009, including one each in the majors and the World Golf Championships, helped Aiken reach the Dubai World Championship despite holding only partial status on the tour. He finished the season ranked 46th on the Race to Dubai.

In May 2011, Aiken won his first title on the European Tour at the Open de España, winning by two strokes from Anders Hansen. After winning Aiken dedicated the win to home hero Seve Ballesteros who had died the previous day. "I definitely want to dedicate this win to him with it being his home Open and what he gave to his home fans and to golf," said Aiken. [3]

Aiken picked up his second European Tour win at the 2013 Avantha Masters, a tournament co-sanctioned by the Asian Tour. [4]

In 2014, Aiken won the Sunshine Tour's Order of Merit, overtaking Daniel van Tonder in the final tournament. [5]

Aiken has participated several times in the Gary Player Invitational charity tournament.

Professional wins (11)

European Tour wins (3)

No.DateTournamentWinning scoreMargin of
victory		Runner-up
18 May 2011 Open de España −10 (68-68-72-70=278)2 strokes Flag of Denmark.svg Anders Hansen
217 Mar 2013 Avantha Masters 1−23 (67-69-62-67=265)3 strokes Flag of India.svg Gaganjeet Bhullar
316 Feb 2014 Africa Open 2−20 (66-65-66-67=264)Playoff Flag of England.svg Oliver Fisher

1Co-sanctioned by the Asian Tour
2Co-sanctioned by the Sunshine Tour

European Tour playoff record (1–1)

No.YearTournamentOpponentResult
1 2014 Africa Open Flag of England.svg Oliver Fisher Won with birdie on first extra hole
2 2018 Nordea Masters Flag of England.svg Paul Waring Lost to par on first extra hole

Sunshine Tour wins (8)

No.DateTournamentWinning scoreMargin of
victory		Runner(s)-up
12 Jul 2004 Vodacom Origins of Golf at Zimbali−12 (66-72-66=204)Playoff Flag of South Africa.svg Keith Horne
223 Jul 2004 Vodacom Origins of Golf (2) at Sun City−12 (67-66-71=204)3 strokes Flag of South Africa.svg Des Terblanche
321 Oct 2004 Vodacom Origins of Golf Final (3)−5 (68-73-73=214)7 strokes Flag of South Africa.svg Jean Hugo
42 Sep 2005 Telkom PGA Pro-Am −15 (68-66-67=201)6 strokes Flag of South Africa.svg Henk Alberts
515 Oct 2005 MTC Namibia PGA Championship −15 (64-67-67=198)4 strokes Flag of South Africa.svg Michiel Bothma, Flag of Zimbabwe.svg Sean Farrell,
Flag of South Africa.svg Werner Geyer, Flag of South Africa.svg Keith Horne
66 May 2006 Samsung Royal Swazi Sun Open 59 pts (8-24-9-18=59)9 points Flag of South Africa.svg Steve Basson
71 Nov 2008 Platinum Classic −19 (65-68-64=197)5 strokes Flag of South Africa.svg Desvonde Botes, Flag of South Africa.svg Nic Henning,
Flag of South Africa.svg Keith Horne
816 Feb 2014 Africa Open 1−20 (66-65-66-67=264)Playoff Flag of England.svg Oliver Fisher

1Co-sanctioned by the European Tour

Sunshine Tour playoff record (2–0)

No.YearTournamentOpponentResult
1 2004 Vodacom Origins of Golf at Zimbali Flag of South Africa.svg Keith Horne Won with par on first extra hole
2 2014 Africa Open Flag of England.svg Oliver Fisher Won with birdie on first extra hole

PGA EuroPro Tour wins (1)

No.DateTournamentWinning scoreMargin of
victory		Runner-up
13 Jul 2003 Stoke by Nayland Club Championship−14 (68-67-67=202)Playoff Flag of England.svg Ian Keenan

Results in major championships

Results not in chronological order in 2020.

Tournament2006200720082009
Masters Tournament
U.S. Open
The Open Championship CUTT39T8
PGA Championship
Tournament201020112012201320142015201620172018
Masters Tournament
U.S. Open T25CUTT58
The Open Championship T74CUTT7CUT80
PGA Championship CUTCUT
Tournament201920202021
Masters Tournament
PGA Championship
U.S. Open CUT
The Open Championship NT
  Top 10
  Did not play

CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" = tied for place
NT = No tournament due to COVID-19 pandemic

Summary

TournamentWins2nd3rdTop-5Top-10Top-25EventsCuts made
Masters Tournament 00000000
U.S. Open 00000142
The Open Championship 00002285
PGA Championship 00000020
Totals000023147

Results in World Golf Championships

Results not in chronological order before 2015.

Tournament2009201020112012201320142015
Championship T7T35T23
Match Play
Invitational
Champions T6870T28T54
  Top 10
  Did not play

QF, R16, R32, R64 = Round in which player lost in match play
"T" = Tied

See also

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References

  1. ↑ "Week 19 2011 Ending 8 May 2011" (pdf). OWGR . Retrieved 29 October 2019.
  2. ↑ "On-song Aiken grabs Dunhill lead". BBC Sport. 13 December 2008. Retrieved 28 January 2009.
  3. ↑ "Aiken dedicates first win to Seve". BBC Sport. 8 May 2011. Retrieved 11 May 2011.
  4. ↑ "Thomas Aiken wins Avantha Masters". ESPN. Associated Press. 17 March 2013. Retrieved 20 March 2013.
  5. ↑ "Aiken pips Van Tonder to OoM title". Sunshine Tour. 12 January 2015.
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