Whoop Live first showed Rory McIlroy and Justin Thomas' live heart during shots at the Wells Fargo Championship, and is set to be broadcast again at the Memorial Tournament.
PGA Tour To Show Live Whoop Heart Rate Data During Memorial Broadcast
During the Wells Fargo Championship in May, NBC’s Golf Channel broadcast both Rory McIlroy and Justin Thomas’ real-time heart rate data during certain points of the tournament.
With the upcoming Memorial Tournament, the Golf Channel will once again broadcast the two players’ live heart rate data via Whoop Live.
Available only on the Golf Channel, Whoop Live will provide an insight into how both players are dealing with pressure shots on both Thursday and Friday of the tournament.
Whoop is a fitness tracker and health monitor that became the official fitness wearable of the PGA Tour in January at the start of the year.
The company first launched Whoop Live two years ago, allowing members to overlay their live data over videos and images – though the broadcast of McIlroy and Thomas’ heart rate at the Wells Fargo Championship is the first time this technology has been used live on TV.
As McIlroy putted the winning shot at the Quail Hollow Golf Club to end a barren 18 months without a victory, viewers could see his heart rate jump from 126 before the shot, to over 150 as he celebrated with his caddie and the crowd.
Similarly, Golf Channel showed Thomas’ heart rate on multiple holes, with his shot on the eighth accompanied with commentary focussed on the live data shown on screen.
Viewers are able to see when a player’s heart rate spikes either before, during, or after a shot.
Very cool to see the debut of #WhoopLive on the broadcast this week with my heart rate data in real time while I play.
My friend @willahmed and the entire team continue to do amazing things at @whoop. pic.twitter.com/HNvBS8aOF9
— Rory McIlroy (@McIlroyRory) May 7, 2021
The moments specifically shown at the Memorial Tournament, however, will depend on the play and the broadcast.
With commentators contextualising the data shown on screen, Whoop hopes that future broadcasts will display more athlete-specific data, such as sleep, strain, and recovery.
Will Ahmed, Whoop founder and CEO, said: “Through our partnership with the PGA Tour, we’re not only seeing athletes and players use Whoop to take their game to the next level, but working with NBC and Golf Channel to bring Whoop Live to life during the broadcasts themselves.
“We’re giving audiences insights into golfers that they could never see before and letting them experience what it’s truly like to be a professional athlete for the first time.
“Our 24/7 technology provides actionable feedback that is changing the way athletes train and perform through insights across sleep, recovery and strain, and we’re excited about where our innovation can take the viewing experience next, not just in golf, but across a spectrum of sports.
“One day we hope that the data we can provide to broadcasters becomes an integral part of the fan experience for people watching all sports around the world.”
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