PGA TOUR uses Microsoft Azure to give golf fans more personalized content experiences

The PGA TOUR has partnered with Microsoft to develop an Azure-based cloud application called Content Relevancy Engine (CRE) that can analyze nearly 20 years of statistical data collected by the PGA TOUR’s proprietary scoring system, ShotLink powered by CDW, as well as 80,000-plus hours of video available in the digital library to provide real-time statistical trends and storylines relevant to the current action. This information can be then shown during live TV and digital broadcasting to improve the fan experience.

“The PGA TOUR has been passionate about finding patterns and presenting its massive amounts of content in a more structured way for broadcast producers so they can spend more time doing what they do best: telling amazing stories,” said Mike Downey, Principal Engineer, Microsoft. “Through the Content Relevancy Engine, we’ve helped the TOUR make content more accessible. Now instead of requesting manually-created, custom data feeds from the TOUR, broadcasters can build their own. This solution will continue to learn patterns and get smarter over time.”

“The PGA TOUR strives to be a leader in sports innovation with a goal of reaching new fans globally,” said Steve Evans, SVP Information Systems of the PGA TOUR. “In the broadcast truck, decisions on what content airs on television are made in real-time as the story is unfolding in front of everyone. Having compelling and relevant content at our finger tips allows us to instantly provide the broadcast team with supporting information surrounding the action as it happens. Through Artificial Intelligence, we can build systems that continue to learn and develop on their own, allowing the TOUR’s platforms to evolve with the fan.”

Early this year, PGA TOUR released its HoloLens app in the Microsoft store which integrates post round data from ShotLink and CDW to create a 3D model of TPC Scottsdale that can be displayed on a tabletop or any flat horizontal surface. Users can zoom in to view the details of any hole and compare how two players performed on a hole and view heat maps of most ball traffic on a certain hole along with real time weather. Learn more about it here.

Source: Microsoft