How IBM's AI Will Power Fan Experience at the 90th Masters

As the world’s elite golfers prepare to descend upon Augusta National for the 90th Masters Tournament, long-standing partner IBM has announced a suite of new AI-powered digital features designed to transform the fan experience.

Marking three decades of collaboration, the latest update introduces agentic AI capabilities through the IBM watsonx platform, allowing fans to interact with the tournament’s history and live data in unprecedented ways.

Jonathan Adashek, Senior Vice President of Marketing and Communications at IBM, comments: "The Masters Tournament and IBM have continually raised the bar on unique digital experiences that blend cutting-edge technology with the timelessness of Augusta National Golf Club."

AI delves into the archives

The headline addition for 2026 is the Masters Vault Search. This tool transforms over 50 years of final-round broadcast archives into an interactive, searchable library.

Using IBM’s Granite small language models (SLM) and the watsonx Orchestrate platform, fans can use natural language prompts to find specific moments – such as legendary putts or specific player highlights – without scrolling through hours of footage.

The system utilises optical character recognition, speech-to-text transcription and scene detection to index decades of metadata. This includes stroke data dating back to 2015 and overall results from as far back as 1968.

By deploying a system of AI agents, IBM has made it possible for fans to relive the tournament’s most iconic moments through simple, conversation-style prompts, making a vast historical database instantly accessible.

Real-time intelligence on the green

Furthermore, IBM has enhanced its Hole Insights feature. Now in its third year, the tool uses Gen AI to provide real-time scoring probabilities for every shot on the course.

To ensure the highest level of accuracy, IBM collaborated with legendary caddie and commentator Jim "Bones" Mackay. By combining his course expertise with historical data, the AI can now explain how a specific ball position might impact a player's chances of making par or birdie, adjusted for the unique conditions of Augusta National.

The moment a ball comes to rest, its exact coordinates are captured and compared against historical data for the hole location. Watsonx then calculates the probabilities of making an eagle, birdie, par, bogey or more, and generates an insight based on that analysis.

These updates join an already impressive suite of AI-enabled fan features on Masters digital platforms, including AI Highlights, Round in Three Minutes, My Group and the Masters app on Apple Vision Pro.

Data-driven insights for sport and business

IBM’s partnerships with the Masters and other iconic sports and entertainment organisations – such as Scuderia Ferrari HP, Wimbledon, the US Open and the Grammys – are powered by the same AI hybrid cloud solutions used by clients across various industries to reach new levels of productivity and create better customer care experiences.

Jonathan adds: "The introduction of Masters Vault Search and updates to Hole Insights show how generative and agentic AI can transform vast amounts of data into meaningful insights – whether you’re a golf fan who wants to understand the implications of a single shot in real time or a financial institution using AI to analyse millions of transactions to identify patterns and inform decisions."

The 90th Masters Tournament will be held from 9–12 April. Fans can access the new AI-powered features via the official Masters website and mobile app, as well as the dedicated Apple Vision Pro application.