We know that Jason Day is an extremely talented golfer. But the 27-year-old Aussie is also pretty decent at another game, albeit in a completely different setting.
Day arrived in Seattle on Friday, less than a week before he tees it up at the 2015 U.S. Open at Chambers Bay in University Place, Wash.
His first stop happened to be the Concur headquarters in downtown Bellevue, where Day — who inked a sponsorship deal with the travel expense management company last year — stopped by to help stuff backpacks with food to benefit the Boys and Girls Clubs of King County.
GeekWire had a chance to catch up with Day, who revealed his passion for the popular Call of Duty video game.
“I used to game a lot and I used to game a little too hard,” Day said.
Back when his career was just getting started, Day’s life primarily consisted of golf and playing Call of Duty for “a good eight hours a day.”
“The biggest waste of time of my life was playing Call of Duty,” Day said. “But I got really good at Call of Duty — a little bit too good, at that time.”
Now that Day has a wife and a 2-year-old son — and also wins golf tournaments — he no longer has time for Xbox and PlayStation.
But that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Day now focuses his time on golf, family, and a foundation that he and his wife Ellie launched called Brighter Days.
“Golf is so selfish — it’s so much about how do we get better and get to the next level,” Day said. “So to be able to come here today at Concur’s headquarters and help kids out … one day, hopefully we’ve helped turn these kids into class-A citizens that will also inspire youth as they get older and further into their careers.”
As far as why he decided to partner with Concur — which was acquired by SAP for $8.3 billion in September — Day said it was a “perfect fit.”
“My career is at a turning point and I’m looking to expand and really grow as a player and person,” he said. “I just felt like Concur as a company kind of fit that mold.”
The world’s tenth-ranked golfer also noted that he’s more of a “Mac guy” over PC, and his favorite app is, unsurprisingly, golf-related.
“I use this app that keeps my handicap,” Day said. “As professionals, we don’t keep handicaps. But as a kid, I was so excited about seeing how low I could get my handicap. So that’s one app I really do use a lot.”
Day, who has three top-five U.S. Open finishes in the past four years, also explained why he’s excited about technology’s impact on golf. He specifically pointed to Trackman, a popular swing and ball flight analyzer that uses radar technology to measure things like swing speed, attack angles, spin rates, smash factors, and more.
“It’s actually the most efficient way of teaching the golf swing,” Day said.
Day tees off on Thursday at 2:17 p.m. with Masters champion Jordan Spieth and Justin Rose.
“I get along with those guys really well and I’m pumped for that,” Day said of Thursday’s pairing. “I think we will have a lot of people watching, especially with Jordan winning the Masters and how Justin is playing right now. Hopefully I can get something going at this U.S. Open and perform. I’ve been close so many times. I just want to get over that finish line.” .
GeekWire will be reporting from Chambers Bay later this week and you can follow our coverage of the major tournament here.
