German Masters (golf)

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

External links

• Official site
• Coverage on the European Tour's official site