The McCue Interview: PGA European Tour CIO Mark Lichtenhein

As I sit with him in the media centre, Lichtenhein is 'IT fixer' to assembled journalists yet at the top table of the one of the world's most prestigious sports.

A baffled reporter in his fifties scratches his head. Windows 98 on his laptop seems to mean problems with the wireless LAN. (No surprise there.) Lichtenhein is on first-name terms with these guys who, like him, move from course to course around Europe during one of the longest seasons in any sport. To them Lichtenhein is still 'the IT guy' - and Lichtenhein seems always happy to help.

Also conspicuous at tournaments are a team from Unisys, the Tour's main technology partner. Their presence points to sponsorship being much more these days than logos splashed up on screens and hoardings. A vendor paying millions has to be, well, involved.

The PGA European Tour sources around 90 per cent of its IT needs from this supplier, for one thing meaning all servers and PCs are from Dell, Unisys being a key Dell partner. Lichtenhein is happy. Before he had "inherited a complete hodgepodge".

But there is also the challenge of local sponsors, as the circus moves from town to town. The Wales Open is a great example. Held at the start of June, its home is the Celtic Manor resort, owned by technology entrepreneur Terry Matthews. Not only is Sir Terry something of a local hero - the only Welsh billionaire after some major deals and now an investor in an estimated 50 start-ups - but his best-known concern, Mitel, is on board with Lichtenhein and co.

Sure, the PBX specialist's branding adorns signs everywhere at the tournament but as mentioned by Lichtenhein, the company treats the event as more than a chance to schmooze clients. IP phones sit in the media centre and there is talk about what will be used here in 2010 when the Ryder Cup comes to this course. (At six years away, good luck guessing.)

At other courses, at other times, other sponsors come into the equation. IBM and O2 famously helped at the 2002 Ryder Cup. Some visitors to the Belfry were given XDAs on arrival, to keep up with scores and other information.

Lichtenhein is animated about wireless. On the local level, there is the use of wireless LANs. For example, scorers who accompany groups of players enter numbers on an Intermec PDA when a hole is completed and these scores are sent immediately back to the main scoreboard and - importantly for viewers - to the broadcaster at an event, usually Sky.

The Europeantour.com website is also updated through such integration, though Lichtenhein admits this isn't in real time. He says: "There is a user expectation that the web is as quick as TV. We could do it but it's a question of cost, having to handle all the web server refreshes at once."

The Tour gets broadband internet service via satellite.

However, it is on a wider scale that wireless perhaps offers the most interesting options. Lichtenhein is closely following the development of the wide area WiMAX standard, which could mean one or two central hubs at an event instead of 20 or so WLAN access points.

Then there is work with sponsors such as Mitel on running voice of WLANs and IP networks in general. This is ongoing and initially met with some resistance from course staff used to old-fashioned walkie-talkies.

But most appealing is doing away with the need for local telecoms operators. Already the Tour has invested in broadband via satellite. The service provider is Tachyon and reseller Mitsui. (See photo.)

And with a telco such as BT charging £12 per metre of cabling per week and the Tour easily needing 1,000m per course, there's an easy £500,000 or so of costs to be cut every year.

"Wireless will be so key going forward," Lichtenhein says.

But spending time with Lichtenhein, it's easy to sense the future isn't about individual technologies or even the golf, despite the excitement of upcoming 'big ones' such as the Ryder Cup at the K-Club in Ireland or ongoing progress with broadcast and online/print media.

It is more about relationships, with key suppliers, the likes of Mitel, O2 and Unisys, and all other enablers, from players to local volunteers to grouchy hacks.

Lichtenhein cites his interests as the cinema, politics (especially on a European level and the politics of technology) and other sports such as cricket and skiing.

But you sense his heart is with his languages, his management skills and the accessibility of the sport.

"This job is my life," he says. "It reflects all that I've done and all that I am."