2011-12: Ranked third on the team with a 73.56 stroke average, recording 13 rounds at par or better ... One of three Wildcats to compete as a member of the team lineup in all 11 tournaments ... Recorded five top-20 individual finishes and two top-10 efforts ... Graduated with the 10th-best career scoring average in program history (74.42) ... Best tournament of the year came at the 2012 Big Ten Championships where he finished solo second at 1-under 287 (72-73-73-69) ... Made a huge Sunday charge at the Big Ten Championships with a four birdie front nine to aid in his runner-up result ... Academic All-Big Ten ... Big Ten Outstanding Sportsmanship Award honoree ... Helped by a second-round 1-under 70, recorded his best finish of the fall with a 16th-place effort at the Windon Memorial Classic (Oct. 16-17) ... Began the year with back-to-back even-par 71s in the first two rounds of the season-opening Marshall Invitational (Sept. 12-13) ... Carded a 2-under 70 in the second round of The Prestige at PGA WEST (Oct. 9-11) ... Defeated UCLA's Jaw Hwang, 2 and 1, in Northwestern's match play victory over the then-No. 1 Bruins (Oct. 13) ... Named Big Ten Golfer of the Week after going a perfect 4-0 at the Big Ten Match Play Championship where he helped NU to its third-consecutive team title ... Recorded three top-20 finishes in four spring stroke play tournaments ... First took 19th at the Rice Intercollegiate (Feb. 20-21), then was season-best fifth at the NYX Hoosier Invitational (April 7-8), where he was helped by a second-round 2-under 69 ... Took 13th at the Kepler Intercollegiate (April 14-15), vaulting up the standings with a final round even-par 71.
2010-11: Played in two fall events ... Academic All-Big Ten ... Competed in the Windon Memorial as an individual and joined the team lineup for the UNCG Bridgestone Collegiate ... Carded an even-par 72, his best score of the fall, in the second round of the Bridgestone to help NU to fifth place in the 14-team field ... Joined the team lineup for the ASU Thunderbird Invitational in the spring, firing a second-round 73.
2009-10: Competed in 10 stroke play events and ranked fifth on the team with a 74.30 stroke average for the year ... Won the first tournament of his career with a 7-under 135 at the season-opening Navy Fall Classic (Sept. 12-13) after shooting a career-best 7-under 64 in the second and final round ... That score is tied for the third-best total in NU history ... Had eight rounds at par or better on the year, including five in the 60s ... Recorded his second top-10 of the year with a fifth-place finish at the Windon Memorial Classic (Oct. 4-5) ... Went 3-1 at the Big Ten Match Play Championship ... Academic All-Big Ten.
2008-09: Competed in three tournaments during his freshman season ... Played as an individual at the Windon Memorial Classic and the FAU Spring Break Championship, coming in a season-best 27th at the FAU tournament ... Performed well enough in practice to earn the fifth lineup spot for the 2009 NCAA National Championships ... Led Northwestern with a season-best score of 1-over 72 in the second round ... Was under par for the entire round until darkness forced him to finish the following morning.
High School: 2006 and 2007 AJGA Rolex All-America honorable mention ... Placed first at the AJGA Ping Phoenix Junior, was a medalist at U.S. Juniors Qualifier and also qualified for Match Play at U.S. Juniors ... Team member of the victorious West Canon Cup squad (junior version of the Ryder Cup) ... Won three events during the 2006 season and was a semifinalist at the Polo Golf Junior Classic, which is one of the most prestigious events in junior golf. ... Three-time first-team All-CIF San Diego section honoree while earning a second-team nod once ... Three-time All-North County team award winner ... As a senior, led his high school in both 18-hole average (71.6) and nine-hole average (35.5) ... Earned Mt. Carmel's Scholar Athlete Award ... San Diego Union Tribune Achievement Certificate recipient.
Personal: Born Samuel Chien in Taichung, Taiwan ... Son of So-Main Chen and Brian Chien ... Chose Northwestern over UCLA and California ... Majoring in communication studies.
| Season | Rounds | Strokes | Average | Low |
| 2008-09 | 9 | 682 | 75.78 | 72 |
| 2009-10 | 30 | 2,229 | 74.30 | 64 |
| 2010-11 | 11 | 839 | 76.27 | 72 |
| 2011-12 | 34 | 2,501 | 73.56 | 69 |
| Career | 84 | 6,251 | 74.42 | 64 |