Senior Isaiah Salinda of South San Francisco, California, capped the best summer of his amateur career by reaching the semifinals of the U.S. Amateur Championship at Pebble Beach Golf Links. A management science and engineering major and two-time All-Pac-12 honorable mention selection, he hopes to use it as a springboard for his final season on The Farm.
Q: You had quite a run this summer. Did you see it coming?
A: A little bit, honestly. The NCAA's were kind of the start of it. I pretty much dedicated my summer to golf to see how my game would hold up against the best players in the best tournaments. I felt like I was playing well, but my game came together at the end of summer.
Q: You earned the biggest win of your life in July at the Pacific Coast Amateur Championship at the Olympic Club, firing a competitive course and tournament record 9-under-par 62 on the historic Lake Course in the third round.
A: I think my previous best score on the Lake Course was a 67 or 68. I started okay, scrambling for a lot of pars. I made a 30-footer for birdie on the sixth hole, then birdied seven. From there, I hit a lot of greens and made a lot of mid-range birdie putts. I birdied the last five holes and was kind of in the zone. I really don't know what I was shooting until I walked up to the 18th green and asked my caddie, Brad Knox, where I was at. I had about a five-footer for birdie and made that, so that was cool. I had a ton of one-putts.
Q: What was your previous low score?
A: A 62 at Stanford last year. This was my lowest tournament round relative to par.
Q: Olympic has hosted five U.S. Opens, the first in 1955. Almost every great player in the game has competed there and you now own the lowest score. How does that make you feel?
A: I still reflect on it. It's really cool to have that record, knowing pretty much all of the best players have played that course. Special day and special course to do it on.
Q: You followed by reaching the Round of 16 at the Western Amateur, where Cardinal teammate Brandon Wu advanced to the semifinals. Did you guys feed off each other this summer?
A: For sure. We played quite a few tournaments together and stayed in host housing. He stayed at my house for the Pacific Coast and we stayed together in Chicago for the Western. I've known him since we were younger and we kind of push each other. We're both very competitive and I think that makes us better.
Q: You were low qualifier at the U.S. Amateur Sectional qualifier in Cincinnati, Ohio. How did you wind up playing there?
A: I had just played in the Trans Miss Amateur in Columbus, and there weren't any NorCal qualifiers in between, so I just stayed a couple extra days and played there. I had never qualified for the U.S. Amateur, so I thought, why not just try a different state? It worked.
Q: You fired a 9-under at Coldstream Country Club to earn medalist honors by four strokes.
A: I think my goal that day was to shoot 9 or 10-under. I shot 67 in the morning and did even better in the afternoon (66).
Q: That earned you a spot at the U.S. Amateur at famed Pebble Beach Golf Links, a course you had never played before.
A: I was just trying to make match play. I was just trying to play two, solid rounds. I thought under par or even would be in for sure because it was playing tough. The first round at Pebble, I hit it well and made a lot of putts to shoot 68. Struggled off the tee at Spyglass Hill – it was playing tougher than Pebble – and kind of held it together on the back nine and finished well to make the cut.
Q: You won your first two matches fairly easily.
A: The first match is always the one you want to get out of the way for your confidence and to get comfortable. To get by the first guy was big for me. I hit a lot of fairways and greens the first two matches and put a lot of pressure my opponents. I knew it would get tougher. You have to grind out the later matches a little more with your short game and by saving pars just to keep the momentum.
Q: How comforting was it to have Knox, your former Stanford teammate, as your caddie?
A: He was on my bag at Olympic Club, Honestly, he could caddie for anyone on the PGA Tour. He always knows what to say and was pretty much doing all the math (yardages) for me and telling me the numbers I needed to know. He knows my game and was able to keep me focused.
Q: Word is you guys like colorful socks?
A: We're both into cool socks. We would almost compete on who has the nicest pair. He was wearing shorts, so his were more on display.
Q: In the third round, you beat Stewart Hagestad, the 2016 U.S. Mid-Amateur champion. You rallied to defeat him with a two-putt birdie on the par-5 18th, a hole many consider the most famous in the world.
A: He's a pretty big name in amateur golf. I'd seen him at a lot of big tournaments, but we had never played. He was a nice guy. I knew it wasn't going to be easy because he has so much experience. It went down to the end.
Q: That advanced you into the semifinals, where you joined a select group of former Stanford standouts Lawson Little, Tiger Woods, Joel Kribel and David Chung to earn the distinction.
A: I didn't know until I read about it. It's cool to have my name alongside theirs.
Q: Your received national television exposure on Fox in the quarterfinals and semifinals against UCLA sophomore Devon Bling.
A. I was definitely aware of it. It was kind of hard not to be. It started in the quarterfinals against Hagestad when we were the featured match. On the front nine, there were a ton of cameras and quite a few people watching. I got used to it pretty quickly and thought I adjusted pretty well. It was honestly fun to play in that environment. It didn't really make me nervous … I was just trying to enjoy it as much as I could.
Q: You trailed most of the way against Bling, but battled until No. 18 before losing 1-down. He made seven birdies and shot 66; you made six birdies and shot 67. Pretty impressive.
A: I played with him this year at the Pac-12 Championships. I just remember him being really solid and a good ball-striker. Our match was fun. We were trading birdies and it was probably enjoyable to watch for the spectators. I hadn't been on that type of stage before, so it was exciting to be a part of. I wish I had won or made one or two more birdies, but proud of how I played the whole week, especially that day.
Q: Have you been able to watch the matches?
A: No. We didn't really think ahead to record them because my parents and brother were with me most of the week. I received a bunch of texts and videos here and there. I've just seen the clips.
Q: You and Brandon start your senior season this week at the Fighting Illini Classic. Are you more confident as a player?
A: This summer helped me a lot. Especially that win at the Pacific Coast. Brandon and I have very high expectations for ourselves and the team. They kind of saw how we played and hopefully they think that could be them and we could have a really good season if they dedicate themselves. I want to make it the best year of the four and go out on a high note.