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Chen Tze-chung

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In this Chinese name, the family name is Chen.
Chen Tze-chung
Personal information
Born (1958-06-24) 24 June 1958 (age 66)
Height1.77 m (5 ft 10 in)
Weight72 kg (159 lb; 11.3 st)
Sporting nationality Taiwan
ResidenceTaipei
Career
Turned professional1980
Former tour(s)Japan Golf Tour
Asian Tour
PGA Tour
Professional wins16
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour1
Japan Golf Tour6
Other9
Best results in major championships
Masters TournamentT12: 1987
PGA ChampionshipT23: 1985
U.S. OpenT2: 1985
The Open ChampionshipCUT: 1987

Chen Tze-chung (Chinese: 陳志忠; born 24 June 1958) is a Taiwanese professional golfer who played on the PGA Tour, the Japan Golf Tour, the Asian Golf Circuit, the Asian Tour and the European Tour. In the U.S., he is often referred to as T.C. Chen. His older brother, Chen Tze-ming, is also a professional golfer, who has won tournaments on the Japanese and Asian tours.

In 1982, Chen became the first professional golfer from Taiwan to earn a PGA Tour card[1] and is the first Taiwanese golfer to win on the PGA Tour with a win at the 1987 Los Angeles Open.[2] Pan Cheng-tsung, became the second Taiwanese golfer to win on the PGA Tour with a victory in the 2019 RBC Heritage tournament.[3] Chen was the second golfer from Asia to win on the PGA tour following Isao Aoki of Japan, who won the 1983 Hawaiian Open.[4]

Early life

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Chen was born in Linkou District, Taipei City, in northern Taiwan. He dropped out of school at 14 and went to work at a Bridgestone motorcycle factory. He quit the job after a year and took up golf, following in his older brother's footsteps. His grandfather farmed the land that would become the Linkou International Golf Club and his father worked as a greenskeeper at the club.[1] Chen admired Taiwanese golfer Lu Liang-Huan as a youth, stating "when I was a little kid, after school I came to the golf course every day and watched. I didn't know anything about golf, only read about superstars like Nicklaus and Trevino, those who were in the papers every day. Mr. Lu had finished second at the British Open, so at the time he was very famous. I was thinking someday I will be just like him. That was part of the reason I started to play golf."[1]

Amateur career

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Representing his country as an amateur, Chen was a member of the 1976 Eisenhower Trophy team with his brother, and then won a bronze medal for Taiwan at the 1980 tournament, as Chen finished 2nd individually, behind Hal Sutton of the United States. Chen finished 5th personally in the 1984 World Cup as a professional, leading Taiwan to a 2nd-place finish behind Spain, and represented Taiwan in 1985 and 1994 at the Alfred Dunhill Cup tournament, a country-based team golf competition, playing alongside his brother.[5][6]

Professional career

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Chen earned his PGA Tour card on his first attempt in 1982, finishing in a tie for 4th in the Q school, joined the tour in 1983, and played a total of 132 tournaments on the PGA Tour, making the cut in 78, with 13 top-ten finishes, 1 tour win, and over $633,000 in total earnings.[7]

At the 1985 U.S. Open, he scored the first double eagle in U.S. Open history and tied the record low scores for the championship at that time after 36 holes (134) and 54 holes (203). Leading with a two-stroke advantage heading into Sunday play, his fourth round included a quadruple-bogey eight that featured a chip shot that he hit twice in one swing, and became part of the history of disastrous shots in the final round of a major. Chen remained in contention for the title until the 18th, narrowly missing chipping in a bunker shot on the final hole, which would've forced a playoff with the eventual champion Andy North.[8][9] As a result of the double-hit, it is sometimes referred to as a "TC Chen" and Chen is sometimes referred to as "Two Chips" Chen.[10] In 2018, the USGA and The R&A, golf's governing bodies, announced a rule change for the double-hit, with the player counting it as one stroke and eliminating the penalty. Golf Digest said, "somewhere, TC Chen is smiling."[11][12]

Chen finished second twice in his PGA career, at the 1983 Kemper Open, where he lost a five-man playoff to Fred Couples,[13] and the above-mentioned 1985 U.S. Open. He played on the PGA Tour for 10 years, having his best year in 1987, when he finished 51st in earnings, 12th at the Masters, and won the 1987 Los Angeles Open with 275 (−9), defeating Ben Crenshaw in a playoff, for his only PGA Tour win.[14] Chen sunk a 14-foot putt on the 18th hole to force the playoff, and then putted for par to beat Crenshaw on the first playoff hole.[15][16][17]

He returned primarily to play in Asia in 1990, playing extensively on the Japan Golf Tour, where he won six tournaments, and also appeared occasionally on the European Tour. He last played on the PGA Tour in 1997, returning to the U.S. to play in the Los Angeles Open as a former champion.[18]

As a senior, Chen played the 2008 Senior British Open on the Champions Tour and returned to the United States for the 2012 U.S. Senior Open where he made the cut and finished 56th. In Asia, he won the 2015 Iwasaki Shiratsuyu Senior Tournament on the Japan PGA Senior Tour.

Personal life

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Chen and his brother Tze-ming have run and coached in the junior program at the Linkou Golf Club in Taipei City.[19] He has three children (Jason, Jennifer, Jeffrey) and now lives in Walnut, California with his wife Sherry.

Professional wins (16)

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PGA Tour wins (1)

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No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory 		Runner-up
1 22 Feb 1987 Los Angeles Open −9 (70-67-67-71=275) Playoff United States Ben Crenshaw

PGA Tour playoff record (1–1)

No. Year Tournament Opponent(s) Result
1 1983 Kemper Open United States Fred Couples, United States Barry Jaeckel,
United States Gil Morgan, United States Scott Simpson 		Couples won with birdie on second extra hole
Jaeckel eliminated by par on first hole
2 1987 Los Angeles Open United States Ben Crenshaw Won with par on first extra hole

PGA of Japan Tour wins (6)

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No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory 		Runner(s)-up
1 14 Jun 1981 Sapporo Tokyu Open −9 (70-66-74-69=279) 3 strokes Australia Terry Gale
2 28 Apr 1985 Dunlop International Open1 −11 (64-73-72-68=277) 1 stroke Japan Tsuneyuki Nakajima
3 26 May 1991 Ube Kosan Open −10 (69-74-66-65=274) 2 strokes Japan Saburo Fujiki
4 27 Sep 1992 Gene Sarazen Jun Classic −11 (68-71-67-71=277) Playoff Japan Masashi Ozaki
5 30 May 1993 Mitsubishi Galant Tournament −11 (71-72-66-68=277) 4 strokes Australia Brian Jones, Japan Yoshi Mizumaki,
Japan Tateo Ozaki
6 29 Aug 1993 Daiwa KBC Augusta −11 (71-69-68-69=277) Playoff Taiwan Lin Chie-hsiang

1Co-sanctioned by the Asia Golf Circuit

PGA of Japan Tour playoff record (2–3)

No. Year Tournament Opponent(s) Result
1 1981 KBC Augusta Taiwan Hsieh Min-Nan, Japan Nobumitsu Yuhara Hsieh won with birdie on second extra hole
2 1984 Bridgestone Tournament Japan Yoshihisa Iwashita, Japan Masahiro Kuramoto,
Scotland Sam Torrance 		Kuramoto won with eagle on first extra hole
3 1992 Gene Sarazen Jun Classic Japan Masashi Ozaki Won with par on third extra hole
4 1993 Maruman Open Philippines Frankie Miñoza Lost to birdie on second extra hole
5 1993 Daiwa KBC Augusta Taiwan Lin Chie-hsiang Won with birdie on second extra hole

Asia Golf Circuit wins (2)

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No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory 		Runner(s)-up
1 21 Apr 1985 Maekyung Open −8 (70-69-69-72=280) 2 strokes Mexico Rafael Alarcón, Taiwan Lu Chien-soon
2 28 Apr 1985 Dunlop International Open1 −11 (64-73-72-68=277) 1 stroke Japan Tsuneyuki Nakajima

1Co-sanctioned by the PGA of Japan Tour

Asia Golf Circuit playoff record (0–2)

No. Year Tournament Opponent(s) Result
1 1981 Indonesia Open Taiwan Hsu Chi-san, Thailand Sukree Onsham,
United States Payne Stewart 		Stewart won with birdie on first extra hole
2 1991 Philippine Open United States Dennis Paulson Lost after concession on first extra hole

Other wins (7)

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  • 1984 King Grapes Classic (Japan)
  • 1989 Mercuries Taiwan Masters, Chang Hwa Open (Taipei), ROC PGA Championship (Taipei), Chang Kang Open (Taipei)
  • 1990 Japan Chunichi Crown Open
  • 1991 ROC PGA Championship (Taipei)

Japan PGA Senior Tour wins (1)

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  • 2015 Iwasaki Shiratsuyu Senior Tournament

Results in major championships

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Tournament 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989
Masters Tournament T23 T12 T19 52
U.S. Open T2 T59 CUT CUT
The Open Championship CUT
PGA Championship 72 CUT T23 T47
  Top 10
  Did not play

CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" = tied

Summary

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Tournament Wins 2nd 3rd Top-5 Top-10 Top-25 Events Cuts made
Masters Tournament 0 0 0 0 0 3 4 4
U.S. Open 0 1 0 1 1 1 4 2
The Open Championship 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
PGA Championship 0 0 0 0 0 1 4 3
Totals 0 1 0 1 1 5 13 9
  • Most consecutive cuts made – 5 (1985 U.S. Open – 1987 Masters)
  • Longest streak of top-10s – 1

Team appearances

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Amateur

Professional

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c Ballard, Sarah (16 June 1986). "Golf's own Chen Dynasty". Sports Illustrated. Archived from the original on January 20, 2013. Retrieved 18 June 2012.
  2. ^ "Who Were The Asian Professional Golfers That Blazed The Way For Today's Asian Professional?". Pro Tour Golf College.
  3. ^ Chuah Choo Chiang (18 October 2018). "C.T. Pan Realises PGA Tour Dream". PGA Tour.
  4. ^ Everill, Ben; Livsey, Laury (17 October 2021). "From Miyamoto to Matsuyama: A look at Japan's PGA Tour history". PGA Tour.
  5. ^ "Dunhill Cup". The Province. Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. 18 October 1985. p. 84 – via newspapers.com.
  6. ^ "Dunhill Cup rosters". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Pennsylvania. 14 September 1994. p. D-2 – via newspapers.com.
  7. ^ "Career Stats for T.C. Chen". www.golfstats.com.
  8. ^ Barnas, Jo-Ann (June 11, 1996). "Chen's Monster". Detroit Free Press. Michigan. p. 1D – via newspapers.com.
  9. ^ "T.C. Chen finds niche golfing in Japan". Detroit Free Press. June 11, 1996. p. 7D – via newspapers.com.
  10. ^ Cook, Chuck (August 2008). "Golf's Most Embarrassing Shots". Golf Digest. Archived from the original on 31 March 2015. Retrieved 5 May 2013.
  11. ^ Beall, Joel (13 September 2018). "What you need to know about the new Rules of Golf". Golf Digest.
  12. ^ Sens, Josh (11 March 2018). "Final version of new Rules of Golf include significant changes that affect everyday golfers". Golf.com.
  13. ^ "Couples Wins Playoff". Abilene Reporter-News. Texas. Associated Press. June 6, 1983. p. 1B – via newspapers.com.
  14. ^ "Chen Gets First Tour Victory". The New York Times. Associated Press. 23 February 1987.
  15. ^ "Pressure suits Chen just fine at LA Open golf". The Napa Register. California. Associated Press. February 23, 1987. p. 5 – via newspapers.com.
  16. ^ Hershey, Steve (February 23, 1987). "Chen ends U.S. tourney drought". Times Herald. Port Huron, Michigan. p. 1B – via newspapers.com.
  17. ^ "Crenshaw misses 3-foot putt, paves way for Chen win". Sun-Sentinel. Fort Lauderdale, Florida. February 23, 1987. p. 5C – via newspapers.com.
  18. ^ "Nissan Open – 1997 – Leaderboard". Golf Channel.
  19. ^ Lee, David (18 March 2008). "Double Trouble". Golf Digest.
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