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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.
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.
| 1 | 22 Feb 1987 | Los Angeles Open | −9 (70-67-67-71=275) | Playoff | Ben Crenshaw |
PGA Tour playoff record (1–1)
| 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 |
| Won with par on first extra hole |
| 1 | 14 Jun 1981 | Sapporo Tokyu Open | −9 (70-66-74-69=279) | 3 strokes | Terry Gale |
| 2 | 28 Apr 1985 | Dunlop International Open1 | −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 |
PGA of Japan Tour playoff record (2–3)
| 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 |
| 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 Open1 | −11 (64-73-72-68=277) | 1 stroke | Tsuneyuki Nakajima |
Asia Golf Circuit playoff record (0–2)
| 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 |
| 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
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