LPGA Commissioner Michael Whan presents the Commissioner’s Award during the LPGA Rolex Players Awards on Nov. 15, 2018 in Naples, Florida. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)
The LPGA is exploring using more sophisticated shot tracking technology, both in support of and funded by the growth of legalized sports betting in the U.S. While the PGA Tour employs the laser-based ShotLink system to measure precisely the distance and trajectory of each shot, the LPGA does not yet have a comparable solution.
“With the [onset] of sports betting, we’re going to have the revenue that gives us the freedom to really invest in a better system,” said LPGA commissioner Mike Whan. “I would say over the next, probably, 24 months, you’ll see a pretty significant increase in the LPGA’s approach in terms of making sure we can track on a more real-time basis those results data.”
Whan spoke to SportTechie while appearing in New York on Wednesday to promote the Aon Risk Reward Challenge, a season-long leaderboard of success on the toughest holes in golf. As more states pass legislation to permit sports betting, Whan emphasized the need to have accurate, reliable, and fast information available.
“If people are going to bet on this sport,” he said, “I want to make sure the data is real.”
That’s the case both for integrity reasons as well as financial. Sports leagues such as the NBA, the NHL, and MLB have already struck data rights deals with the sportsbook at MGM Resorts. Whan noted the importance of providing the best data available or else that potential disappears. He also pointed out tennis’ betting profile grew because of its excellent data source and said the LPGA might begin incrementally.
“Now the interesting thing about tennis or basketball or baseball is you can turn 50 cameras on one court [or field],” Whan said. “There’s one ball in play. We have 144 balls in play over the course of six miles, so it becomes a much bigger challenge.
“Maybe I don’t need to figure out a way to do 18 holes and 144 competitors,” he added. “Maybe the last four holes of every LPGA event are going to be the ones I really focus on, and I become the best sports information [source] in the world on a few holes, not on 18 holes. That’s probably how we’ll get started.”
The exact implementation has not been determined, but Whan indicated that the LPGA’s system would probably include a combination of radars, cameras, and operators walking the course with iPad Pros to input additional information. He said it wouldn’t be a full replication of ShotLink but would take a “similar approach.” The PGA Tour has tested an upgrade to its system called ShotLink Plus that will add optical-tracking cameras from SMT.
Licensing data is a direct windfall for leagues, although an increase in fan interest and engagement should have a secondary impact through media contracts, sponsorships, and other business deals.
“There’s no doubt that betting on the game is going to create an audience that we don’t currently have today,” Whan said. “I mean, I’ve watched it with fantasy football. I used to watch the Bengals because I like the Bengals, but now I get in my kids’ fantasy football leagues, and I watch all these silly games. And I know who the backup tight end is in Kansas City because I might need to pick him up.”
There is also an inherent fan engagement appeal of having the additional data that extends beyond sports betting. The NHL began developing an optical tracking system as a broadcast tool before realizing its sports betting applications. The pro golfers on tour would also have a new source of analytics for helping refine their skills.
“It would not only be helpful for us as players and maybe our coaches that are not out there every week, but I think it’d be good for our fans to really understand what our true numbers are,” said LPGA pro Lizette Salas, “because we’re so relatable to an average golfer because we don’t hit it 320 yards or have the same ball speed [as the male pros].”
Last year’s Supreme Court decision that opened the route to legalizing sports betting in the U.S. is a catalyst on the growing American sector, but the LPGA remains a major international property and that new domestic market is only a part of a much bigger industry.
“The majority of sports betting right now is coming out of Asia,” Whan said. “As you can imagine, our business is incredibly strong in Asia, so there’s a lot of sports companies—betting organizations—that are betting on the LPGA being an interesting property. We’re going to have to invest with some of them and for some of them to create the kind of data that makes us a worthy sport to assess.”
