Thomas Edward Aiken (born 16 July 1983) is a South African professional golfer who plays on the European Tour and Sunshine Tour.
Amateur career Aiken had a successful amateur career. He was earned the South African Amateur of the Year award in 2001.
Professional career In 2002, Aiken turned professional. 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. 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.
Aiken picked up his second European Tour win at the 2013 Avantha Masters, a tournament co-sanctioned by the Asian Tour.
In 2014, Aiken won the Sunshine Tour's Order of Merit, overtaking Daniel van Tonder in the final tournament.
Aiken has participated several times in the Gary Player Invitational charity tournament.
Professional wins (11) European Tour wins (3) No.DateTournamentWinning scoreMargin ofvictoryRunner-up18 May 2011Open de España−10 (68-68-72-70=278)2 strokes Anders Hansen217 Mar 2013Avantha Masters1−23 (67-69-62-67=265)3 strokes Gaganjeet Bhullar316 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.YearTournamentOpponentResult12014Africa Open Oliver FisherWon with birdie on first extra hole22018Nordea Masters Paul WaringLost to par on first extra hole
Sunshine Tour wins (8) No.DateTournamentWinning scoreMargin ofvictoryRunner(s)-up12 Jul 2004Vodacom Origins of Golf at Zimbali−12 (66-72-66=204)Playoff Keith Horne223 Jul 2004Vodacom Origins of Golf (2) at Sun City−12 (67-66-71=204)3 strokes Des Terblanche321 Oct 2004Vodacom Origins of Golf Final (3)−5 (68-73-73=214)7 strokes Jean Hugo42 Sep 2005Telkom PGA Pro-Am−15 (68-66-67=201)6 strokes Henk Alberts515 Oct 2005MTC Namibia PGA Championship−15 (64-67-67=198)4 strokes Michiel Bothma, Sean Farrell, Werner Geyer, Keith Horne66 May 2006Samsung Royal Swazi Sun Open59 pts (8-24-9-18=59)9 points Steve Basson71 Nov 2008Platinum Classic−19 (65-68-64=197)5 strokes Desvonde Botes, Nic Henning, Keith Horne816 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.YearTournamentOpponentResult12004Vodacom Origins of Golf at Zimbali Keith HorneWon with par on first extra hole22014Africa Open Oliver FisherWon with birdie on first extra hole
PGA EuroPro Tour wins (1) No.DateTournamentWinning scoreMargin ofvictoryRunner-up13 Jul 2003Stoke by Nayland Club Championship−14 (68-67-67=202)Playoff Ian Keenan
Results in major championships Results not in chronological order in 2020. Tournament2006200720082009Masters TournamentU.S. OpenThe Open ChampionshipCUTT39T8PGA Championship Tournament201020112012201320142015201620172018Masters TournamentU.S. OpenT25CUTT58The Open ChampionshipT74CUTT7CUT80PGA ChampionshipCUTCUT Tournament201920202021Masters TournamentPGA ChampionshipU.S. OpenCUTThe 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 madeMasters Tournament 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0U.S. Open 0 0 0 0 0 1 4 2The Open Championship 0 0 0 0 2 2 8 5PGA Championship 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0Totals 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. Tournament2009201020112012201320142015ChampionshipT7T35T23Match PlayInvitationalChampionsT6870T28T54
QF, R16, R32, R64 = Round in which player lost in match play "T" = Tied
See also 2007 European Tour Qualifying School graduates 2015 Web.com Tour Finals graduates
References
External links