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AI commentary goes into full swing at Players Championship
Built in partnership with Amazon Web Services (AWS), AI commentary runs on Amazon Bedrock and uses the Claude and Anthropic models and will be part of every PGA Tour event moving forward. The goal is to ensure every player gets meaningful coverage, something that would be impossible to do manually.
There have been many comparisons between AI and the Internet and the impact to society. The Internet democratized access to information and now AI can play a similar role in democratizing expertise, which can help grow interest in the game of golf. The hard-core golf fan may understand how tough it is to get the tee shot close to the Sunday pin placement on the 17th hole at TPC Sawgrass but the casual fan would not. AI providing the commentary to highlight this can help add an extra bit of interest and tension with the viewer that then leads to better engagement.
This update stems from the PGA Tour’s Fan Forward Initiative, which found that younger fans (aged 18-34) want more detailed stats and analysis. The AI commentary was introduced as a response to that demand.
Fans will soon be able to customize their own streams as the PGA Tour expands the AI commentary feature. For example, they will be able to create end-of-round summaries for their favorite players and even Golfbet-specific commentary. The PGA Tour wants to eventually offer a more interactive, multi-modal experience that includes text, voice, and video.
The AI commentary is the third big update to Tourcast this season. In January, at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, Tourcast tracked every shot from every player at both Pebble Beach Golf Links and Spyglass Hill Golf Course. This marked the first time it covered multiple courses in a single event. Another recent upgrade introduced shot plots for every hole, giving fans a clearer view of player performance.
While the addition of AI commentary to Tourcast is primarily a fun golf story, there is a lesson here for IT and business leaders. AI will eventually be part of every application and service we use – so how can brands take advantage of it to change customer and employee experience?
