Published 04/07/2023, 6:30 AM EDT By SAUMYA YASHAWANT
The Masters Tournament, the biggest celebration of golf, is currently ongoing at the Augusta National in Georgia. Some of the most outstanding players have come together to play for the coveted green jacket. Fans have been anticipating the tournament for months now, and the excitement is doubled given the participation of LIV Golf players along side their rival Tour companions!
In addition to the excitement surrounding the two Tours, there is yet another feature introduced this year to the tournament to make it more enticing for the fans – the AI commentary. However, this feature wasn’t exactly welcomed when it was initially announced.
But now, the tables seem to be turning for a few. A golf enthusiast has posted his view about the AI commentary, and the golf world has given their two bits on it. Are they on board or are they still unsatisfied with the new feature?
Masters fans went berserk over AI commentary
The Masters’ app is termed as one of the best professional apps liked by fans unanimously. And, for the 87th edition of the Masters Tournament, a few enhancements were introduced to enhance the experience of the app. IBM and Masters came together to incorporate a language model which would add spoken commentary mimicking the live broadcast with proper golf terms. It will allow fans to experience and enjoy any video on the Masters App with the best quality.
Reactions from the fans were mostly all over the place, but they were largely unhappy. They did not like the idea of a robot taking over, and some of them even planned on keeping it on mute. But a golf fan has recently posted a snippet of the AI commentary and said, “I think I’m actually kinda liking the AI commentary.” And this time, the fans’ reactions depicting a different feeling towards the feature. They actually started liking it. Here’s what they had to say:
"Do NOT clap for yourself, Kevin!" This is gold. Pure gold.
— Donald Ross, Deceased (@DRoss_Ghost) April 6, 2023
AI commentary has been part of video games for a very long. Even customer support of many companies make use of it. However, introducing it to golf came as s surprise to some fans and the acceptance rate was low. But it seems, that fans have started to see the feature for what it is and actually enjoy it. The changes were made to enhance fans’ experience, and the hard work of IBM and Masters might work out very soon.
The first round of the Masters so far
PGA Tour pro, Rory McIlroy, who is vying for the green jacket and is a fan favorite to win this year, carded a bogey on the final hole and finished his opening round at even par.
Jordan Spieth, carded birdies in the 15th (Firethorn) and 16th (Redbud) holes and pars the final two to finish at -3. Novice golfer, Sam Bennett, finished off the first round remarkably. He shot a bogey-free four-under 68 to tie with the 2022 Masters champion, Scottie Scheffler.
Brooks Koepka was almost struck with a two-stroke penalty due to his caddie advising Gary Woodland’s caddie. But thankfully, officials did not find a rule violation. And senior golfer, Fred Couples, forgot to shout ‘Fore’ after his errant shot. And it is just day one. The excitement is high to see what else the Masters has in store for its fans.
