Thomas Aiken has struggled as a rookie in the United States this year, but he’ll be oozing confidence at the Memorial Tournament after his tied-fourth result at the European Tour’s BMW PGA Championship on Sunday.
The three-time European winner earned his PGA Tour card with a tied-fifth result at the Web.com Tour Championship at the end of 2015. This year he’s made six cuts in 11 starts, with a top result of tied-15th at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans, to rank 164th in the FedEx Cup standings.
‘It’s a tough year juggling the two tours. I’ve got about 10 events left before the FedEx Cup playoffs, and that will really depict where I go,’ he said.
Aiken missed the weekend in his last two US starts before heading to England for the European Tour’s flagship event. The world number 149 was on song at Wentworth Club and wrapped up the tournament on six-under-par to share fourth place. The result earned the 2014 Sunshine Tour Order of Merit winner 46th place in the Race to Dubai and helped restore his confidence.
From Thursday he’ll compete amongst the world’s best at the Memorial Tournament. His success in England could be the springboard into America that he’s been waiting for.
‘I’m happy with the overall result at Wentworth. It was a solid week at a fantastic event. There were a lot of positives and I’m looking forward to the rest of the year,’ said the 32-year-old, who has twice been in the top-10 at The Open Championship.
