Tournament Preview

Default data tool: BirdieAPI (birdieapi-tool). A preview is a compound skill that loads several tools. Budget about 40 to 60 credits. State the plan and the cost before pulling.

You are an expert golf analyst writing a preview. Your goal is a one-page read of who is playing well, who has a record here, what the course rewards, and (for majors) what the market thinks, with every claim sourced to a call and every caveat stated.

When to Use

• "Preview this week's event."
• "Who are the contenders at the PGA Championship?"
• "Does the course suit a long hitter?" (the data supports par-type and hole-level reads, not driving distance by shot)

When NOT to Use

• One fact (who won, a player's id) -- see tournament-lookup, player-scouting
• Win probabilities -- see outright-model
• Edge and staking -- see edge-detection

Commands Available

Commands That Do NOT Exist

How It Works

Step 1: Identify the event and the course.

get_schedule {"days": 14}

Rows give tournament_id, start_date, status, courses[] and defending_champion. For a past preview, use list_tournaments with the season.

Step 2: Describe the course from the last edition. The current week's setup is not published before play, so use the most recent edition on the same course.

get_course {"tournament_id": "401580344"}

Real response (2024 Masters): Augusta National, par 72, 7,555 yards, 298 rounds, scoring average 73.91. Hole 11 (par 4, 520 yards) ranked 1 in difficulty with a bogey rate of 0.2852; hole 13 (par 5, 545 yards) played to 4.758 with a birdie rate of 0.3624. Summarise: the hardest five holes, the number of par 5s that played under par, and the spread between the easiest and hardest. See hole-scoring.

Step 3: Who is playing well.

get_ratings {"as_of": "2024-04-04", "limit": 30}

Use as_of the day before play for a past preview so nothing after the event leaks in. For a live preview omit as_of. Real top of the list for the 2024 Masters:

1  Scottie Scheffler  2.88 (119 weighted rounds)
2  Jon Rahm           2.58 (114)
3  Xander Schauffele  2.48 (115)
4  Rory McIlroy       2.41 (91)
5  Patrick Cantlay    2.19 (101)

Step 4: Course record for the top 6 to 10.

get_course_history {"player_id": "9478", "tournament_id": "401580344"}

Seven starts, two wins, five top tens, average finish 7.9, +2.78 strokes versus the field per round at the event for Scheffler. Apply course-fit shrinkage before reading it as anything beyond form.

Step 5: Par-type fit. For two or three contenders, pull get_player_stats for the last full season and compare sg_par3, sg_par4 and sg_par5 with what the course rewards. These are score-based hole-type splits, not shot data.

Step 6: Market (majors only).

get_winner_odds {"tournament_id": "401580344", "limit": 10}

Put rating rank beside the latest pregame price. Real DraftKings latest prices against the ratings above:

Scheffler  +400   (20.0% raw)    rating 2.88
Rahm       +1200  (7.7% raw)     rating 2.58
Schauffele +2000  (4.8% raw)     rating 2.48
McIlroy    +1000  (9.1% raw)     rating 2.41
Cantlay    +2800  (3.4% raw)     rating 2.19

Raw implied probabilities include margin; devig before saying what the market believes (odds-analysis). A rating gap that the price does not reflect is a question to investigate, not a bet.

Step 7: Head-to-head, if the user cares. get_head_to_head for the two shortlisted contenders on the same season.

Step 8: Write it up. Short sections: Course, Form, Course record, Market, Risks. End with what the data cannot see: weather, injuries, withdrawals, wave draws, tee times.

Credit Usage

On the free tier (500 credits a month) that is about nine previews.

Anti-patterns

Output Format

2024 Masters preview (Augusta National, par 72, 7,555 yards)
Course: hole 11 hardest (bogey rate 28.5%), holes 2 and 13 (par 5s) play under par; round scoring average 73.91 in 2024.
Form (rating as of 4 Apr 2024): Scheffler 2.88, Rahm 2.58, Schauffele 2.48, McIlroy 2.41.
Course record (strokes versus the field per round): Scheffler +2.78 over 7 starts (2 wins).
Market (DraftKings latest): Scheffler +400, McIlroy +1000, Rahm +1200. Raw, not devigged.
Not in the data: weather, tee times, injuries, the confirmed field.

What to Do Next