(Photo By Vincent Fiorino)
SAN FRANCISCO – Senior Isaiah Salinda secured the biggest victory of his career Friday by winning the 52nd Pacific Amateur Championship on the famed Lake Course at The Olympic Club.
Salinda, who started the final round with a three-stroke advantage after blazing a competitive course and tournament record 9-under-par 62 on Thursday, closed with a 72. A South San Francisco native, Salinda (71-67-62-72) finished at 12-under 272, edging Austin Eckroat of Edmond, Oklahoma at 11-under 273.
Cardinal senior Brandon Wu from Danville, California (67-68-70-70) earned third with a 72-hole score of 9-under 275. Recent Stanford graduate Franklin Huang shared 45th at 7-over 291.
The Pacific Coast Amateur dates to 1901 and is one of the oldest events in North America. Salinda is the first winner from Stanford since 1967, when the tournament became an annual event. This year's field included 32 of the top 100 amateurs in the world.
"It still hasn't sunk in," Salinda said. "This is my biggest win against an elite field. I certainly wasn't the highest ranked, so this is definitely a huge win for my confidence going forward."
Last June, he claimed the Northern California Amateur Championship at Spyglass Hills Golf Course in Pebble Beach, California.
Salinda used course knowledge to his advantage. He was a junior member at Olympic and former Cardinal teammate Bradley Knox caddied for him this week.
Salinda rebounded after a rocky start in Tuesday's opening round. He was 4-over through eight holes, then turned things around by salvaging an even-par round.
On Thursday, Salinda lit up the Lake Course, site of five U.S. Opens and future host of the 2028 PGA Championship and 2032 Ryder Cup, with 10 birdies. He closed with five straight birdies, lipping out an eagle putt at the par-5 17th hole.
"I just kind of got hot with my putter," said Salinda, a management science and engineering major.
Salinda's previous career-best score was 66 (-4), posted in the 2017 Western Intercollegiate at Pasatiempo Golf Club in Santa Cruz, California. He shot a 4-under 67 in late March in The Goodwin at Harding Park Golf Course in San Francisco.
Wu also made an impressive showing at Olympic with four consecutive sub-par rounds. On Friday, he made three birdies and two bogeys.
It has been a good month for Salinda, a PING All-America honorable mention and All-Pac-12 honorable mention in 2018. He earned medalist honors by four strokes last Monday in 36-hole sectional qualifying for the U.S. Amateur Championship at Coldstream Country Club in Cincinnati, Ohio, shooting 9-under 133. Salinda advanced to the tournament proper, Aug. 13-19 at Pebble Beach Golf Links.