T-Mobile Technology Comes to KPMG Championship in Sammamish | News

Bellevue-based T-Mobile announced on Tuesday that it is bringing the same 5G technology for enhanced fan experiences on site and on TV to this week’s KPMG Women’s PGA Championship at Sahalee Country Club in Sammamish that it deployed at the men’s PGA Championship in Kentucky last month.

T-Mobile is bringing real-time player data and tracking, more broadcast views, and optimized event operations to the tournament, which kicks off Thursday and runs through Sunday. 

For the first time at the KPMG Women’s Championship, fans can follow each player in the field through the all-new KPMG Champcast presented by T-Mobile. Available online and through the PGA Championships App, fans will see the same ShotLink Pro 2.0 data deployed on the PGA Tour with additional 3D imagery, radar data, shot trails, green views and individual shot video highlights; and, for fans on site, T-Mobile 5G will broadcast a Toptracer feed to the videoboard at the T5G Range, T-Mobile said in a news release.

As with the men’s event last month, 5G-connected cameras will be included in the telecast to bring fans more action in real time. Using T-Mobile’s 5G portable private network, NBC Sports is adding more 5G cameras to more holes at Sahalee to provide more action to the NBC, Peacock, and Golf Channel broadcasts, the release said.

T-Mobile also plans an on-site VIP lounge, T-Mobile Club Magenta, open to attendees with premium views of the 10th fairway, complimentary phone charging, 5G-connected PuttView augmented reality experience, and more. T-Mobile customers also can access free T-Mobile folding chairs for the course and cocktails.

“This Championship is one of the biggest weeks in women’s golf and I’m looking forward to competing at Sahalee,” Nelly Korda, ranked No. 1 in the world and a T-Mobile athlete, said in T-Mobile’s release. “T-Mobile’s support of the event has elevated it even further and the technology improvements give us, and the fans, a chance to engage with data from every shot throughout the week like never before.”

Callie Field, president of T-Mobile Business Group, said the technology helps the PGA overcome technology limitations to improve the experience for fans and streamline operations. “The ability to bring women’s golf fans more content like real-time scores and shot data, is a game changer,” Field added.

In a press conference shortly after T-Mobile’s announcement, KPMG U.S. Chair and CEO Paul Knopp said Champcast, in addition to serving fans, will improve the player experience.

“For the first time ever, the women that play this game on this course are going to be able to get real time shot data that’s going to help them improve their game,” Knopp said of players being able to access and analyze their shot data after their round. “We’re really excited about this advancement. It’s only possible because of the amazing partnership between the PGA of America and T-Mobile to make sure we have the right technology. And very importantly, it’s the same technology, the men use; so it’s another example of we’re trying to elevate and create more equity in the women’s game of golf.”

LPGA  Commissioner Mollie Marcoux Samaan added at the press conference, “We say technology is one of the great equalizers, and it’s also an area that if you don’t have the right technology, we’re never going to catch up. … This year, for the first time, we’ve had the ShotLink technology at the U.S. Open, which has been extremely popular, but the KPMG Champcast will allow the players to come off and it will integrate right into the KPMG Performance Insights Dashboard,” which players are familiar with and use every week, she said. “And now shot-level data coming in, in real time is a game-changer. The men have had that for a long time and now the women can use that as a tool to enhance their game.”

As part of T-Mobile’s commitment to the PGA of America and bringing more equity to the women’s game, the company said today that’s now a sponsor of Brooke Henderson, who won the 2016 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship at Sahalee. Henderson will sport the T-Mobile logo and work with the brand in a number of ways.

For tournament details, visit here.