Thomas Aiken
Thomas Edward Aiken (born 16 July 1983) is a South African professional golfer who plays on the European Tour and Sunshine Tour.
| Thomas Aiken | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 | |||
| Personal information | |||
| Full name | Thomas Edward Aiken | ||
| Born | 16 July 1983 Johannesburg, South Africa | ||
| Height | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) | ||
| Weight | 150 lb (68 kg; 11 st) | ||
| Sporting nationality |  South Africa | ||
| Residence | Johannesburg, South Africa Tequesta, Florida | ||
| Career | |||
| Turned professional | 2002 | ||
| Current tour(s) | European Tour Sunshine Tour Web.com Tour | ||
| Former tour(s) | PGA Tour | ||
| Professional wins | 11 | ||
| Highest ranking | 73 (8 May 2011)[1] | ||
| Number of wins by tour | |||
| European Tour | 3 | ||
| Asian Tour | 1 | ||
| Sunshine Tour | 8 | ||
| Other | 1 | ||
| 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 | |||
| |||
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. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | Margin of victory | Runner-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 8 May 2011 | Open de España | −10 (68-68-72-70=278) | 2 strokes |  Anders Hansen |
| 2 | 17 Mar 2013 | Avantha Masters1 | −23 (67-69-62-67=265) | 3 strokes |  Gaganjeet Bhullar |
| 3 | 16 Feb 2014 | Africa 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. | Year | Tournament | Opponent | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2014 | Africa Open | Oliver Fisher |
Won with birdie on first extra hole |
| 2 | 2018 | Nordea Masters | Paul Waring |
Lost to par on first extra hole |
Sunshine Tour wins (8)
| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | Margin of victory | Runner(s)-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 Jul 2004 | Vodacom Origins of Golf at Zimbali | −12 (66-72-66=204) | Playoff | Keith Horne |
| 2 | 23 Jul 2004 | Vodacom Origins of Golf (2) at Sun City | −12 (67-66-71=204) | 3 strokes | Des Terblanche |
| 3 | 21 Oct 2004 | Vodacom Origins of Golf Final (3) | −5 (68-73-73=214) | 7 strokes | Jean Hugo |
| 4 | 2 Sep 2005 | Telkom PGA Pro-Am | −15 (68-66-67=201) | 6 strokes | Henk Alberts |
| 5 | 15 Oct 2005 | MTC Namibia PGA Championship | −15 (64-67-67=198) | 4 strokes | Michiel Bothma,  Sean Farrell, Werner Geyer, Keith Horne |
| 6 | 6 May 2006 | Samsung Royal Swazi Sun Open | 59 pts (8-24-9-18=59) | 9 points | Steve Basson |
| 7 | 1 Nov 2008 | Platinum Classic | −19 (65-68-64=197) | 5 strokes | Desvonde Botes, Nic Henning, Keith Horne |
| 8 | 16 Feb 2014 | Africa Open1 | −20 (66-65-66-67=264) | Playoff | Oliver Fisher |
1Co-sanctioned by the European Tour
Sunshine Tour playoff record (2–0)
| No. | Year | Tournament | Opponent | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2004 | Vodacom Origins of Golf at Zimbali | Keith Horne |
|
| 2 | 2014 | Africa Open | Oliver Fisher |
Won with birdie on first extra hole |
PGA EuroPro Tour wins (1)
| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | Margin of victory | Runner-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 Jul 2003 | Stoke by Nayland Club Championship | −14 (68-67-67=202) | Playoff | Ian Keenan |
Results in major championships
Results not in chronological order in 2020.
| Tournament | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | ||||
| U.S. Open | ||||
| The Open Championship | CUT | T39 | T8 | |
| PGA Championship |
| Tournament | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | |||||||||
| U.S. Open | T25 | CUT | T58 | ||||||
| The Open Championship | T74 | CUT | T7 | CUT | 80 | ||||
| PGA Championship | CUT | CUT |
| Tournament | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | |||
| PGA Championship | |||
| U.S. Open | CUT | ||
| The Open Championship | NT |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| U.S. Open | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 2 |
| The Open Championship | 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 |
- Most consecutive cuts made – 3 (2008 Open Championship – 2010 Open Championship)
- Longest streak of top-10s – 1 (twice)
Results in World Golf Championships
Results not in chronological order before 2015.
| Tournament | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Championship | T7 | T35 | T23 | ||||
| Match Play | |||||||
| Invitational | |||||||
| Champions | T68 | 70 | T28 | T54 |
QF, R16, R32, R64 = Round in which player lost in match play
"T" = Tied
References
- "Week 19 2011 Ending 8 May 2011" (pdf). OWGR. Retrieved 29 October 2019.
- "On-song Aiken grabs Dunhill lead". BBC Sport. 13 December 2008. Retrieved 28 January 2009.
- "Aiken dedicates first win to Seve". BBC Sport. 8 May 2011. Retrieved 11 May 2011.
- "Thomas Aiken wins Avantha Masters". ESPN. Associated Press. 17 March 2013. Retrieved 20 March 2013.
- "Aiken pips Van Tonder to OoM title". Sunshine Tour. 12 January 2015.
External links
- Thomas Aiken at the Sunshine Tour official site
- Thomas Aiken at the European Tour official site
- Thomas Aiken at the PGA Tour official site
- Thomas Aiken at the Official World Golf Ranking official site