The return of the PGA Tour was watched closely by Dunedin's Animation Research, who for the first time produced the tour's graphics, live from their office 12000 kilometres away from the action.
The tour teed off in Texas, three months after it was abandoned due to coronavirus, with the crew holed up in a Dunedin workshop.
“We actually even have a team over in New Zealand as well, supporting our virtual technology,” one of the commentators said in a shout out.
It's something Ian Taylor's team at animation research had to create themselves with international travel not an option.
“Having the talk back panel here, it does feel like we're onsite, so it feels just like we're sitting in the truck on the TV compound,” Reece Witters said.
Everything about the set-up has a Kiwi touch, from the workshop only being put together yesterday to cardboard cutouts showing the time difference.
“This is kind of beyond my wildest dreams really. It’s only four, five weeks ago [that] we thought, 'Gee, what if we can’t get there?' and in that time the team has pulled this off,” Ben Taylor said.
First the director calls for a graphic, there a few clicks in Dunedin buttons before it appears on screen for the golfing world to see.
The first two days of coverage will be mostly sponsorship logos, before CBS takes over the coverage where they'll introduce their graphics.
Thanks to a 17-hour time difference, every shift is an early one, with lots of coffee.
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