Cam Jackson, 25, is in a team of four graphics operators using virtual graphics and AI graphics to track the golfers’ shots.
He’s working for Virtual Eye, the sports division of Sir Ian Taylor’s Dunedin-based Animation Research — well known for providing top-class 3D graphics for sporting events around the world.
For the NZ Open, he says they also show off each hole ‘‘to give the TV viewers a good idea of what’s coming up’’.
‘‘We have our own ball-spotters for this event but for, like, PGA and European Tour, we just use the tour-provided ones.’’
He’s worked remotely out of Dunedin covering many PGA tournaments, but in late January travelled to the Dubai Desert Classic.
‘‘I was watching Rory McIlroy, Tommy Fleetwood and Tyrrell Hatton and they just like smoke it and they don’t miss.’’
Prior to that he covered international cricket in Australia for a few months — white-ball series between Australia and India and then the high-profile Ashes Test series between Australia and England.
Jackson’s an accomplished cricketer himself and has played for Otago A and a Dutch club side — last weekend, he hit a run-a-ball 75 for Otago Country in just his third bat of the season.
For this Open he’s working from Millbrook’s Champions Lounge, ‘‘so people can come see what we do’’, however he’s normally tucked away in a portacabin.
Having grown up in Queens-town, ‘‘it’s really cool to be able to do a home event rather than travelling elsewhere’’.
As for who he’d like to see win it, ‘‘hopefully [Daniel] Hillier can bring it home’’.
