The Deutsche Bank Players Championship of Europe was an annual 72 hole stroke play professional golf tournament for men. It was played in Germany and was part of the European Tour schedule. The tournament was founded in 1992 as the Honda Open and acquired the tag of The Players Championship of Europe or TPC of Europe in 1995. It was always been played at either Gut Kaden or Golf Club St Leon Rot (the websites are in German). The prize fund in 2007 was €3.6 million, which put it in the top group of European Tour events outside the major championships and World Golf Championships, but not at the head of the list.
The parallels between this tournament and the PGA Tour's Players Championship are not very strong. The European Players Championship is not the richest event on the European Tour and it is not played close to the Tour's headquarters. The Players Championship's closest parallel in Europe is perhaps the BMW PGA Championship, although that was originally the British PGA Championship, and thus equivalent to the PGA Championship, organised by the PGA of America, which is a major championship and is now a European Tour event. Before it was attached to the current event in Germany the TPC/Players Championship tag was applied briefly to European Tour events in England and Portugal. It is more of a marketing tool than a genuine indication that the event is different from other leading European Tour events in any important way.
Tiger Woods has played in the tournament several times. He was said to have received large appearance fees, which give rise to some controversy as appearance fees are not normally paid by European Tour events which actually take place in Europe. They are more common in less prestigious tournaments.
The tournament was dropped from the 2008 European Tour schedule.
Deutsche Bank Players Championship of Europe
Deutsche Bank - SAP Open TPC of Europe
Deutsche Bank Open TPC of Europe
Honda Open