Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods meet during a preview day of the World Golf Championships – Bridgestone Invitational on Aug. 1, 2018. (Photo by Sam Greenwood/Getty Images)
Turner Sports is introducing new technology and predictive data integrations for its pay-per-view coverage of the Tiger Woods-Phil Mickelson $9 million match play competition on Friday, Nov. 23 at Las Vegas’ Shadow Creek Golf Course.
An algorithm incorporating ShotLink Intelligence and Shadow Creek’s terrain will forecast the probability of every shot’s outcome. At the conclusion of each hole, the MGM GVC Interactive Gaming joint venture will update new odds, money lines, and other betting information. Woods and Mickelson have been encouraged to make side challenges as they play the MGM Resorts-owned course.
The broadcast will feature drones shooting novel camera angles for live golf. Additionally, Toptracer will provide real-time data on trajectories and flight paths of each shot, Virtual Eye will provide animations. Both golfers and their caddies will wear microphones during the match as well.
The match is available for $19.99 via Turner’s B/R Live, DirecTV, AT&T U-verse, and via PPV on many cable operators.
SportTechie Takeaway
This exhibition is a perfect showcase for new tech, such as the use of drone coverage. But the data elements will be especially noteworthy as a precursor to more betting-infused broadcasts of sports. MGM has been particularly aggressive in moving ahead in the sports betting world with its NBA and NHL deals, and this event could offer a taste of what’s ahead.
The match is essentially replicating the side hustle of casual golf course gambling that happens everywhere, albeit this duel is on a much grander stage. Mickelson even said the premise for this was “Why don’t we just bypass all the ancillary stuff of a tournament and just go head-to-head and just have kind of a high-stakes, winner-take-all match?”
