T-Mobile is helping boost the fan experience this week at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, a major women’s golf tournament hosted by Sahalee Country Club in Sammamish, Wash.
The Bellevue, Wash.-based wireless carrier is providing infrastructure to power a new “KPMG Champcast” mobile app and online experience that features real-time shot tracking for every golfer. High-resolution drone imagery was used to create a digital twin of each hole at Sahalee, and shot-tracking is powered by a system called ShotLink.
Champcast can be accessed via the championship’s mobile app (iOS; Android) or online.
Tracking technology in golf has come a long way since the PGA Tour began using ShotLink more than two decades ago. It’s led to an explosion of data and the creation of new statistics such as strokes gained, a method of comparing a player against the the rest of the field.
KPMG in 2021 launched its KPMG Performance Insights dashboard that shows strokes gained and other advanced analytics for LPGA golfers.
Tracking tech in golf has made an impact off the course, fueling adoption of entertainment experiences at businesses such as Topgolf and Five Iron Golf in Seattle.
The PGA Tour also works with Amazon Web Services to power ShotLink technology.
T-Mobile’s technology is also being used this week to add more camera angles for NBC’s television coverage and connectivity enhancements for event operations at Sahalee including ticketed entry, payment processing, and photojournalism.
The company is hosting a lounge at the tournament for fans that includes an augmented reality experience.
T-Mobile, which inked a four-year sponsorship deal with the PGA of America in November, was also involved in the PGA Championship last month. The wireless giant has a number of other sports-related partnerships to help promote its products and services.
Nelly Korda, the top-ranked women’s golfer, is sponsored by T-Mobile, as is Brooke Henderson, who won the Women’s PGA Championship when it was last held at Sahalee in 2016.
