Тайваньдық гольф шебері Чен Тзэ Чжун

Taiwanese professional golfer

Chen Tze chung (; 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 and is the first Taiwanese golfer to win on the PGA Tour with a win at the 1987 Los Angeles Open. Pan Cheng tsung, became the second Taiwanese golfer to win on the PGA Tour with a victory in the 2019 RBC Heritage tournament. Chen was the second golfer from Asia to win on the PGA tour following Isao Aoki of Japan, who won the 1983 Hawaiian Open. 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.

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. 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. 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. 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." Chen finished second twice in his PGA career, at the 1983 Kemper Open, where he lost a five man playoff to Fred Couples, 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. 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. 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. 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.

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