Apple is expanding its real-time sports hub on iPhone with a meaningful update to Apple Sports, adding full PGA and LPGA tournament tracking while sharpening soccer and tennis coverage. Version 3.7 brings live golf leaderboards, hole-by-hole scoring, and richer player pages, alongside broader soccer competition support and in-match tennis stats that update as points unfold.
Golf Coverage Lands on iPhone with PGA and LPGA Tracking
The headline change is golf. Apple Sports now tracks PGA and LPGA events across the calendar with live leaderboards, individual scorecards, and hole-by-hole progress. Player profiles surface useful context—position, tour ranking, birth details, and headshots—so you can quickly see who’s moving up the board and why it matters. The timing coincides with the run-up to marquee PGA Tour stops like the WM Phoenix Open, a tournament known for drawing some of the largest crowds in golf.
For fans used to juggling multiple apps for tee times, cut line projections, and round summaries, consolidating this data in a single, lightweight feed is a notable quality-of-life upgrade. While Apple hasn’t named its data provider, the pace of updates suggests an emphasis on timely scoring that aligns with expectations set by official PGA Tour and LPGA leaderboards.
Apple Expands Soccer Coverage for European Domestic Cups
Apple is also widening its net in world football, adding support for key European domestic cups including Spain’s Copa del Rey, Italy’s Coppa Italia, France’s Coupe de France, and Germany’s DFB-Pokal. Knockout competitions can be tricky to follow because fixtures are staggered, formats vary, and extra time or penalties can kick in without much warning. Centralizing live scores and match details in Apple Sports helps maintain continuity across those irregular schedules.
This complements existing league coverage like the Premier League and dovetails with Apple’s broader soccer push, including its long-term partnership with Major League Soccer. For fans who follow both domestic leagues and cup runs, having consistent notifications and at-a-glance status in one place reduces friction on busy matchdays.
Tennis Coverage Adds Real-Time, In-Match Statistics and Context
Tennis gets smarter, too. After debuting basic tournament and match tracking ahead of a recent grass-court season, Apple is layering in real-time in-match statistics. That means point-level updates and richer context while games are in progress—useful when you’re checking a score between meetings and want a sense of momentum rather than a static set count.
Real-time context matters in tennis because small swings—saved break points, tiebreak mini-runs—decide outcomes. Adding live stats brings Apple Sports closer to specialist apps without burdening users with dense dashboards, a balance that will be tested as the tour moves through big-ticket tournaments across surfaces.
Why Apple Is Pushing Deeper Into Sports Right Now
Apple Sports is designed to be fast, glanceable, and integrated with iOS features like Live Activities on the Lock Screen and the Dynamic Island, which makes it ideal for the rapid cadence of scores and lead changes. Apple already covers the NFL, NBA, NHL, MLB, F1, NASCAR, and top-flight soccer, and golf fills a conspicuous gap for a sport where scoring advances every few minutes across multiple groups.
The strategy aligns with consumption trends. Nielsen has consistently reported that live sports dominate annual television rankings in the United States, underscoring why timely, credible updates have become table stakes for platform providers. For Apple, tying scores, notifications, and widgets across iPhone, Apple Watch, and potentially Apple TV creates a loop that keeps fans inside its ecosystem while they follow their teams and favorite athletes.
How It Works on iPhone and What You Need to Get Started
In practice, the update keeps the app’s minimalist approach intact. You select teams, tournaments, or players to build a personalized feed. Live Activities can pin a match or leaderboard to your Lock Screen, and widgets surface ongoing results without opening the app. Golf view screens include leaderboards and player cards; soccer match views expand to show ongoing ties and knockout progress; tennis tabs now reflect rolling stats during play.
Apple says the new features arrive with Apple Sports version 3.7 and require iOS 17.2 or later, which covers iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, iPhone XR, and newer devices. Apple did not disclose regional availability changes or data partners for this release, but the company’s notes point to continued expansion as major sporting calendars heat up.
For golf fans in particular, the addition is overdue but welcome. With PGA and LPGA schedules now represented alongside enhanced soccer and tennis coverage, Apple Sports strengthens its case as a default, free companion for real-time results on iPhone.
