Chen Tze-chung
Chen Tze-chung | |
---|---|
Personal information | |
Born | 24 June 1958 |
Height | 1.77 m (5 ft 10 in) |
Weight | 72 kg (159 lb; 11.3 st) |
Sporting nationality | Taiwan |
Residence | Taipei |
Career | |
Turned professional | 1980 |
Former tour(s) | Japan Golf Tour Asian Tour PGA Tour |
Professional wins | 16 |
Number of wins by tour | |
PGA Tour | 1 |
Japan Golf Tour | 6 |
Other | 9 |
Best results in major championships | |
Masters Tournament | T12: 1987 |
PGA Championship | T23: 1985 |
U.S. Open | T2: 1985 |
The Open Championship | CUT: 1987 |
Chen Tze-chung (
In 1982, Chen became the first professional golfer from Taiwan to earn a
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]
Early life
Chen was born in
Professional career
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
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
As a senior, Chen played the 2008
Personal life
Chen and his brother Tze-ming have run and coached in the junior program at the Linkou Golf Club in
Professional wins (16)
PGA Tour wins (1)
No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | Margin of victory |
Runner-up |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 22 Feb 1987 | Los Angeles Open | −9 (70-67-67-71=275) | Playoff | Ben Crenshaw |
PGA Tour playoff record (1–1)
No. | Year | Tournament | Opponent(s) | Result |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 1983 | Kemper Open | Fred Couples, Barry Jaeckel, Gil Morgan, Scott Simpson |
Couples won with birdie on second extra hole Jaeckel eliminated by par on first hole |
2 | 1987 | Los Angeles Open | Ben Crenshaw | Won with par on first extra hole |
PGA of Japan Tour wins (6)
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 | Terry Gale |
2 | 28 Apr 1985 | Dunlop International Open 1
|
−11 (64-73-72-68=277) | 1 stroke | Tsuneyuki Nakajima |
3 | 26 May 1991 | Ube Kosan Open | −10 (69-74-66-65=274) | 2 strokes | Saburo Fujiki |
4 | 27 Sep 1992 | Gene Sarazen Jun Classic | −11 (68-71-67-71=277) | Playoff | Masashi Ozaki |
5 | 30 May 1993 | Mitsubishi Galant Tournament
|
−11 (71-72-66-68=277) | 4 strokes | Brian Jones, Yoshi Mizumaki, Tateo Ozaki |
6 | 29 Aug 1993 | Daiwa KBC Augusta
|
−11 (71-69-68-69=277) | Playoff | 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 | Hsieh Min-Nan, Nobumitsu Yuhara | Hsieh won with birdie on second extra hole |
2 | 1984 | Bridgestone Tournament
|
Yoshihisa Iwashita, Masahiro Kuramoto, Sam Torrance |
Kuramoto won with eagle on first extra hole |
3 | 1992 | Gene Sarazen Jun Classic | Masashi Ozaki | Won with par on third extra hole |
4 | 1993 | Maruman Open | Frankie Miñoza | Lost to birdie on second extra hole |
5 | 1993 | Daiwa KBC Augusta
|
Lin Chie-hsiang | Won with birdie on second extra hole |
Asia Golf Circuit wins (2)
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 | Rafael Alarcón, Lu Chien-soon |
2 | 28 Apr 1985 | Dunlop International Open 1
|
−11 (64-73-72-68=277) | 1 stroke | Tsuneyuki Nakajima |
1Co-sanctioned by the
Asia Golf Circuit playoff record (0–2)
No. | Year | Tournament | Opponent(s) | Result |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 1981 | Indonesia Open | Hsu Chi-san, Sukree Onsham, Payne Stewart |
Stewart won with birdie on first extra hole |
2 | 1991 | Philippine Open | Dennis Paulson | Lost after concession on first extra hole |
Other wins (7)
- 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)
- 2015 Iwasaki Shiratsuyu Senior Tournament
Results in major championships
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 |
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" = tied
Summary
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
Amateur
- Eisenhower Trophy (representing Taiwan): 1976, 1980
Professional
See also
References
- ^ a b c Ballard, Sarah (16 June 1986). "Golf's own Chen Dynasty". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved 18 June 2012.
- ^ "Who Were The Asian Professional Golfers That Blazed The Way For Today's Asian Professional?". Pro Tour Golf College.
- ^ Chuah Choo Chiang (18 October 2018). "C.T. Pan Realises PGA Tour Dream". PGA Tour.
- ^ Everill, Ben; Livsey, Laury (17 October 2021). "From Miyamoto to Matsuyama: A look at Japan's PGA Tour history". PGA Tour.
- ^ "Dunhill Cup". The Province. Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. 18 October 1985. p. 84 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ "Dunhill Cup rosters". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Pennsylvania. 14 September 1994. p. D-2 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ "Career Stats for T.C. Chen". www.golfstats.com.
- ^ Barnas, Jo-Ann (June 11, 1996). "Chen's Monster". Detroit Free Press. Michigan. p. 1D – via newspapers.com.
- ^ "T.C. Chen finds niche golfing in Japan". Detroit Free Press. June 11, 1996. p. 7D – via newspapers.com.
- ^ Cook, Chuck (August 2008). "Golf's Most Embarrassing Shots". Golf Digest. Archived from the original on 31 March 2015. Retrieved 5 May 2013.
- ^ Beall, Joel (13 September 2018). "What you need to know about the new Rules of Golf". Golf Digest.
- ^ Sens, Josh (11 March 2018). "Final version of new Rules of Golf include significant changes that affect everyday golfers". Golf.com.
- ^ "Couples Wins Playoff". Abilene Reporter-News. Texas. Associated Press. June 6, 1983. p. 1B – via newspapers.com.
- ^ "Chen Gets First Tour Victory". The New York Times. Associated Press. 23 February 1987.
- ^ "Pressure suits Chen just fine at LA Open golf". The Napa Register. California. Associated Press. February 23, 1987. p. 5 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ Hershey, Steve (February 23, 1987). "Chen ends U.S. tourney drought". Times Herald. Port Huron, Michigan. p. 1B – via newspapers.com.
- ^ "Crenshaw misses 3-foot putt, paves way for Chen win". Sun-Sentinel. Fort Lauderdale, Florida. February 23, 1987. p. 5C – via newspapers.com.
- ^ "Nissan Open – 1997 – Leaderboard". Golf Channel.
- ^ Lee, David (18 March 2008). "Double Trouble". Golf Digest.
External links
- Chen Tze-chung at the Japan Golf Tour official site
- Chen Tze-chung at the PGA Tour official site
- Chen Tze-chung at the Official World Golf Ranking official site