Thomas Aiken to defend title in the 100th Spanish Open
Thomas Aiken will be defending his title at the Spanish Open, which will mark its 100th anniversary in the upcoming week.
The 28-year-old South African golfer will tee off the European Tour tournament on Thursday, at the Spanish site of the Real Club de Golf de Sevilla in Seville.
There are two important occasions this week. First, the European Tour event will complete its 100 years, and second, there is the first death anniversary of the famous Spanish professional golf player, Seve Ballesteros.
Aiken has big aims for the year, as he is gearing up for the 100th edition of the event. He won the title last year by scoring a 10-under 278. He defeated Anders Hansen by two strokes and recorded his first European Tour win in Spain.
In 2011, he displayed an amazing performance throughout the four days and bagged a money prize of £333,330, after scoring 18 birdies and eight bogeys in the last year.
However, he felt sad after losing Ballesteros, the great golfer of all time.
"It's been a sad week with Seve passing away," he said. "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".
He added: "I don't think it's quite hit home yet. I've been waiting for this for a long, long time and I've been knocking on the door. I'm ecstatic".
The upcoming episode will be the most appealing one. The competition is tough and the contenders will be teeing off to claim the victory of the 100th Spanish Open.
Aiken is capable enough to post a good score in Spain. Turning professional in 2002, he has won 9 professional tournaments so far. Of the total nine wins, his performance in the Sunshine Tour events surprised his fans.
Similarly, in the current year, he has played five tournaments in total and finished in the top 25 three times. He can defend and regain his glory.
Analysts said that he will have to keep an eye on Spanish players, who are eyeing the Spanish Open in the hoping of keeping the title within the country.
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