In 2021, KPMG and the LPGA rolled out the KPMG Performance Insights platform, giving athletes access to full-field, shot-level data, advanced analytics, and insights such as strokes gained, proximity averages, and performance indexing. Athletes near the top of their games saw how micro adjustments delivered sizable performance gains. Practice became more focused. Results improved.
Then came the prestigious 2023 Solheim Cup with Stacy Lewis, the youngest athlete ever to be named US team captain. Stacy asked if the KPMG Performance Insights platform could provide the kind of advanced tournament analytics and simulations the men’s Ryder Cup captains had been leveraging for years. The KPMG Performance Insights team created a custom platform, where Stacy had data-driven insights around everything she needed to know—from which athletes were predicted to qualify for the Solheim Cup, to which perform best under pressure or on certain types of grass. More than 20,000 simulations were run to see what the most optimal pairings were.
During the tournament, the KPMG Performance Insights team walked the course with the US players, firing data back to the US team room where analysts ran up-to-the-minute simulations on the platform. Resulting insights helped Stacy adapt her strategy in real time.
While the US team didn’t bring home the Solheim Cup (it resulted in a 14-14 tie, with Europe retaining the Cup), they achieved three historic firsts during the tournament, including the US’s first-ever foursome session sweep.
LPGA predictive analytics takes players to new heights
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After the success at the Solheim Cup, the LPGA and KPMG began exploring how to scale up the KPMG Performance Insights platform. For example, how could the platform that ran simulations on 24 Solheim players using one set of tournament rules, scale up to handle 144-player fields for various tournaments?
The answer is AI-empowered enhancements that now provide leading-edge analytics for every LPGA event of the 2024 season. For each tournament, broadcasters can leverage AI-powered predictive insights, including:
• Win probability
• Predicted cut line
• Top 5/10/20 finish probabilities
• Winning score
These projections are meaningful for broadcasters and fans to help contextualize how important each shot really is. To see a player go from a 32.3 percent win probability to a 90 percent win probability real time, based on a single shot, allows fans to appreciate the precision of the sport and the pressure these athletes are under to perform.
With powerful data, analytics, and AI at play, women’s golf will never be the same. Shot-by-shot, the KPMG Performance Insights platform is enhancing our viewing experience as fans.
More powerful AI means powerful predictive analytics
The KPMG Performance Insights platform will continue to evolve over time, helping to put every athlete in a position to perform at her best.
And as the platform grows stronger, so will the LPGA. There’s never been a more exciting time in golf, as we see today’s athletes achieve new levels of success, while athletes of tomorrow will be better than ever as they continue to utilize data and insights to improve their practice and performance.
Embracing the ongoing role of data and analytics
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