German Masters (golf)

Mercedes-Benz Championship
Tournament information
LocationPulheim, Germany
Established1987
Course(s)Golf Club Gut Lärchenhof
Par72
Length7,289 yards (6,665 m)
Tour(s)European Tour
FormatStroke play
Prize fund2,000,000
Month playedSeptember
Final year2009
Tournament record score
Aggregate262 K. J. Choi (2003)
To par−26 as above
Final champion
James Kingston
Location map
GC Gut Lärchenhof
Location in Germany
GC Gut Lärchenhof

The German Masters was a European Tour men's professional golf tournament played in Germany, and hosted and promoted by Germany's most successful golfer Bernhard Langer and his brother Erwin.

History

Founded in 1987,[1] the tournament was originally played in Stuttgart, moving to Berlin in 1994. Since 1998, it has been held at Golf Club Gut Lärchenhof in Pulheim near Cologne. The prize fund had climbed to €3 million by 2005, making the German Masters one of the richer tournaments on the PGA European Tour at that time outside of the major championships and the three individual World Golf Championships.

After a one-year break in 2006, the tournament returned to the European Tour schedule in 2007, renamed as the Mercedes-Benz Championship. Played as a no-cut event, it had a maximum field of 78, consisting primarily of players who had either won tournaments on the European Tour in 2007 or were in the top 75 of the Official World Golf Rankings or in the top 60 of the European Order of Merit. It was played in mid-September, a slot created by the rescheduling of the HSBC World Match Play Championship to October. However, as it clashed with the PGA Tour's Tour Championship, many leading players were unavailable, and so the prize fund had dropped to €2 million on its return, one third less than it was in 2005.

Winners

Year Winner Score To par Margin of
victory
Runner(s)-up
Mercedes-Benz Championship
2009 James Kingston 275 −13 Playoff Anders Hansen
2008 Robert Karlsson 275 −13 2 strokes Francesco Molinari
2007 Søren Hansen 271 −17 4 strokes Phillip Archer
Alastair Forsyth
Linde German Masters
2006: No tournament
2005 Retief Goosen 268 −20 1 stroke Nick Dougherty
David Lynn
José María Olazábal
Henrik Stenson
2004 Pádraig Harrington 275 −13 3 strokes Nick O'Hern
2003 K. J. Choi 262 −26 2 strokes Miguel Ángel Jiménez
2002 Stephen Leaney 266 −22 1 stroke Alex Čejka
2001 Bernhard Langer (4) 266 −22 1 stroke John Daly
Freddie Jacobson
2000 Michael Campbell 197[a] −19 1 stroke José Cóceres
1999 Sergio García 277 −11 Playoff Pádraig Harrington
Ian Woosnam
1998 Colin Montgomerie 266 −22 1 stroke Robert Karlsson
Vijay Singh
1997 Bernhard Langer (3) 267 −21 6 strokes Colin Montgomerie
1996 Darren Clarke 264 −24 1 stroke Mark Davis
Mercedes German Masters
1995 Anders Forsbrand 264 −24 2 strokes Bernhard Langer
1994 Seve Ballesteros 270 −18 Playoff Ernie Els
José María Olazábal
1993 Steven Richardson 271 −17 2 strokes Robert Karlsson
1992 Barry Lane 272 −16 2 strokes Rodger Davis
Bernhard Langer
Ian Woosnam
1991 Bernhard Langer (2) 275 −13 Playoff Rodger Davis
1990 Sam Torrance 272 −16 3 strokes Bernhard Langer
Ian Woosnam
German Masters
1989 Bernhard Langer 276 −12 1 stroke José María Olazábal
Payne Stewart
1988 José María Olazábal 279 −9 2 strokes Anders Forsbrand
Des Smyth
1987 Sandy Lyle 278 −10 Playoff Bernhard Langer

Notes

  1. ^ Shortened to 54 holes due to weather.

References

  1. ^ "German event lifts tour pool to record". The Times. London, England. 18 February 1987. p. 38. Retrieved 7 June 2020 – via The Times Digital Archive.