However, Manley has consistently failed to establish himself at the highest level; he is yet to retain his card by finishing in the top 115 at season's end, and has only regained it via the Challenge Tour in 2007 and qualifying school in 2008, 2010 and 2013.

Manley had originally believed the hole-in-one had won him a Mercedes-Benz car, only to find out afterwards that the prize only applied to the final round of the tournament.

The runner-up finish matched his previous best in a European Tour event, the 2013 Hong Kong Open, where he lost in a playoff.

In June he was involved in two playoffs in two weeks, losing in the KPMG Trophy to Pedro Figueiredo after Figueiredo made a birdie at the first extra hole and then winning the Hauts de France Golf Open at the third extra hole when Grant Forrest made a bogey.

He was also runner-up in the Northern Ireland Open and finished the season 9th in the Order of Merit to earn a place on the 2019 European Tour.