Thomas Aiken Explained

Thomas Aiken
Fullname:Thomas Edward Aiken
Birth Date:16 July 1983
Birth Place:Johannesburg, South Africa
Weight:150lb
Residence:Johannesburg, South Africa
Tequesta, Florida
Yearpro:2002
Tour:European Tour
Sunshine Tour
Web.com Tour
Extour:PGA Tour
Prowins:11
Eurowins:3
Asiawins:1
Sunwins:8
Otherwins:1
Masters:DNP
Usopen:T25: 2015
Open:T7: 2012
Pga:CUT: 2011, 2012
Award1:Sunshine Tour
Order of Merit winner
Year1:2014

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

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.[1] 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.[2]

Aiken picked up his second European Tour win at the 2013 Avantha Masters, a tournament co-sanctioned by the Asian Tour.[3]

In 2014, Aiken won the Sunshine Tour's Order of Merit, overtaking Daniel van Tonder in the final tournament.[4]

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 2011Open de España−10 (68-68-72-70=278)2 strokes Anders Hansen
217 Mar 2013Avantha Masters1−23 (67-69-62-67=265)3 strokes Gaganjeet Bhullar
316 Feb 2014Africa Open2−20 (66-65-66-67=264)Playoff Oliver Fisher
1Co-sanctioned by the Asian Tour
2Co-sanctioned by the Sunshine Tour

European Tour playoff record (1–1)

No.YearTournamentOpponentResult
12014Africa Open Oliver FisherWon with birdie on first extra hole
22018Nordea Masters Paul WaringLost to par on first extra hole

Sunshine Tour wins (8)

No.DateTournamentWinning scoreMargin of
victory
Runner(s)-up
12 Jul 2004Vodacom Origins of Golf at Zimbali−12 (66-72-66=204)Playoff Keith Horne
223 Jul 2004Vodacom Origins of Golf (2) at Sun City−12 (67-66-71=204)3 strokes Des Terblanche
321 Oct 2004Vodacom Origins of Golf Final (3)−5 (68-73-73=214)7 strokes Jean Hugo
42 Sep 2005Telkom PGA Pro-Am−15 (68-66-67=201)6 strokes Henk Alberts
515 Oct 2005MTC Namibia PGA Championship−15 (64-67-67=198)4 strokes Michiel Bothma, Sean Farrell,
Werner Geyer, Keith Horne
66 May 2006Samsung Royal Swazi Sun Open59 pts (8-24-9-18=59)9 points Steve Basson
71 Nov 2008Platinum Classic−19 (65-68-64=197)5 strokes Desvonde Botes, Nic Henning,
Keith Horne
816 Feb 2014Africa Open1−20 (66-65-66-67=264)Playoff Oliver Fisher
1Co-sanctioned by the European Tour

Sunshine Tour playoff record (2–0)

No.YearTournamentOpponentResult
12004Vodacom Origins of Golf at Zimbali Keith HorneWon with par on first extra hole
22014Africa Open Oliver FisherWon with birdie on first extra hole

PGA EuroPro Tour wins (1)

Results in major championships

Results not in chronological order in 2020.

Tournament2006200720082009
Masters Tournament
U.S. Open
The Open ChampionshipCUTT39T8
PGA Championship
Tournament201020112012201320142015201620172018
Masters Tournament
U.S. OpenT25CUTT58
The Open ChampionshipT74CUTT7CUT80
PGA ChampionshipCUTCUT
Tournament201920202021
Masters Tournament
PGA Championship
U.S. OpenCUT
The Open ChampionshipNT
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" = tied for place
NT = No tournament due to COVID-19 pandemic

Summary

Tournament Wins 2nd 3rd Top-5 Top-10 Top-25 Events Cuts made
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
0 0 0 0 0 1 4 2
0 0 0 0 2 2 8 5
PGA Championship 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0
Totals 0 0 0 0 2 3 14 7

Results in World Golf Championships

Results not in chronological order before 2015.

Tournament2009201020112012201320142015
ChampionshipT7T35T23
Match Play
Invitational
ChampionsT6870T28T54
QF, R16, R32, R64 = Round in which player lost in match play
"T" = Tied

See also

Notes and References

  1. News: On-song Aiken grabs Dunhill lead . . 13 December 2008 . 28 January 2009.
  2. News: Aiken dedicates first win to Seve . . 8 May 2011 . 11 May 2011.
  3. News: Thomas Aiken wins Avantha Masters . ESPN . Associated Press . 17 March 2013 . 20 March 2013.
  4. Web site: Aiken pips Van Tonder to OoM title . Sunshine Tour . 12 January 2015.