STANFORD, Calif. – Isaiah Salinda and Brandon Wu will compete on their home course for the final time next week at the NCAA Stanford Regional. Buddies since junior golf, the talented seniors have been pointing toward this event almost since the day they arrived on The Farm in 2015.
"I think we found out freshman year we would be hosting," Wu said. "It's honestly something we have been looking forward to and a nice way to go off."
The No. 12 Cardinal will be one of 13 teams participating Monday through Wednesday at Stanford Golf Course, with the top five advancing to the NCAA Championships, May 24-29 at the Blessings Golf Club in Fayetteville, Arkansas.
"No other place I would rather play Regionals in front of our teammates and friends," Salinda said. "It should be really fun."
The duo has been the backbone of a squad that enters with three consecutive victories, most recently at the Pac-12 Championships. This spring, they each broke through for their first individual win in consecutive weeks.
Almost fittingly, they didn't come easily.
Wu edged junior teammate David Snyder in a playoff on home turf at The Goodwin after the latter buried a 45-foot birdie putt on the final hole to catch him.
Salinda fashioned a career-best 6-under-par 64 in the opening round of the Western Intercollegiate at Pasatiempo Golf Club in Santa Cruz to grab early command, but had to birdie the testy par-3 18th hole in the final round to force sudden death. In a tense battle against Sean Yu of San Jose State, Salinda prevailed with another birdie on the fifth extra hole.
To appreciate the significance of their triumphs, Salinda's came in his 35th career start for Stanford and Wu's in his 41st. Salinda has produced 10 top-10's and 16 top-20's, with Wu registering 13 top-10's and 19 top-20's.
"It was cool," said Salinda, who won the Pacific Coast Amateur Championship at the Olympic Club last year and reached the semifinals of the U.S. Amateur at Pebble Beach.
Wu felt relief and exhilaration. He reached the quarterfinals of the Western Amateur last summer and has been chosen to play for the U.S. Palmer Cup team.
"I'd been close many times and you start to wonder if it's never going to happen," he said. "To finally pull it off was pretty special."
Conrad Ray, the Knowles Family Director of Men's Golf, called their wins a culmination of hard work, perseverance and patience. Wu is No. 11 and Salinda No. 29 in the World Amateur Ranking. Both were invited to the U.S. Walker Cup practice session last December.
"At different times they've really shown their games have moved from Point A to Point B," said Ray. "They have gotten much stronger, have better ball control, and are way more mature on the course with their emotions and mental strategies. That's something I'm really proud of."
Salinda grew up in South San Francisco and Wu spent much of his youth across the bay in Danville after living in Beijing, China, for five years. They met playing the Northern California junior golf circuit, although their friendship got off to a rocky start.
"We were about 11 and playing in an East Bay event," Wu recalled. "I missed a short putt and tapped it in lefthanded with the back of my putter and the other guy in the group goes, 'Oh, that's a penalty.' We were all unsure, but he claimed he saw some other kid do it and he got penalized. Isaiah sided with him immediately."
Added Salinda, "I really didn't know what the rule was. We kind of ganged up on him."
Salinda attended Serra High in San Mateo -- the alma mater of Lynn Swann, Barry Bonds and Tom Brady -- and was the first student-athlete in school history to be named varsity MVP as a freshman. Wu prepped at Deerfield Academy in Massachusetts and earned four varsity letters in golf and swimming.
Both were recruited to play college golf and had talked about competing for Stanford. Wu signed first, then helped sway Salinda over Cal.
"We would talk about it and exchange texts," said Salinda. "We were never really sure if we would get in."
They roomed together sophomore year and live next door, hanging out regularly. Both are passionate about sports, movies and television shows.
"He got me into Game of Thrones," Wu said.
While they both maintain a calm, off-course demeanor, they differ in competition.
"Brandon is kind of the stoic, quiet, lead-by-example guy," Ray said. "Isaiah brings a little bit more of the fired up, in-your-face attitude. Both are really important."
Their games differ, too.
"Brandon is an athletic guy and doesn't always hit it straight down the middle," said Ray. "But being an athlete, he has a great way of getting it in the hole and competing.
"Isaiah has always been the guy that hits it long and straight and smashes his driver, but he's learned the nuances of playing with the second serve if he has to and not necessarily having to hit it perfectly to shoot good scores and win."
Here's how they describe each other's game:
"Above all, the swagger and confidence," Wu said of Salinda. "He's super-skilled in all parts and his short game is really underrated. He's a leader on the course and fires us up. You know he can turn it on at any moment."
Said Salinda, "He can control his irons with the best and is one of the best ball-strikers I've seen in college golf. He has the ability to hit shots and make putts when it matters."
Salinda, Wu and senior Chris Meyers are team captains and take their roles seriously. Each was assigned a freshman to mentor.
"I think that's something we had to learn on the fly," Salinda said. "We try to help and encourage all of them. We know they're very talented but they're still adjusting to college life and school."
Many consider golf to be the ultimate character revealer. Jack Nicklaus once said he could learn more about a person during a four-hour round then spending the whole day with someone in a board room.
"There are certain things in life you can control and things you can't," said Wu. "Golf is the perfect example. You can do all your practicing, work hard and feel really good and go out and play a terrible round. That's something you can't control."
Salinda called golf "humbling" because every day is different.
"That's what makes it so interesting," he said. "All the responsibility and accountability are on you. College golf is a team sport, but when you're out there, it's all on you."
After a disappointing fall campaign, Wu helped ignite the Cardinal in early March at the Southern Highlands Intercollegiate in Las Vegas against a stellar field. He shot 8-under for three rounds to place third and Stanford claimed a season-best third to jump-start its confidence.
The Cardinal hasn't lost since, winning The Goodwin, Western Intercollegiate and Pac-12 Championship and is an accumulative 25-under par.
"We struggled a lot in the fall," said Wu. "We have a young team and continued to work hard and always believed in ourselves. It's been cool to see that materialize."
This spring, Wu has finished second, first, third, 11th and seventh. His strong play proved contagious and Stanford has received important contributions from throughout the lineup.
"The key word is patience," Salinda said. "We always believed we were better than we were playing. Brandon's good play definitely motivated me. We're the leaders of this team, so I needed to get my act together."
In his last four starts, Salinda has finished 14th, sixth, first and fifth.
Both were recently named All-Pac-12 first team.
"Isaiah and Brandon have been huge pieces of the success of our program," said Ray. "Not just this year, but during their four-year careers."
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Salinda (science, technology and society) and Wu (product design) will graduate next month and pursue professional golf. For each, Stanford has been a great fit.
"When you choose Stanford, you embrace the challenge of academics and athletics," Wu said. "There are so many things to take advantage of and you can't be afraid to learn."
First, they want to make the most of their final home appearance and help Stanford contend for an NCAA title, which was the goal before the season began.
"I think we're lucky to host and it's a pretty big advantage," Salinda said. "Hopefully, it will work in our favor and we can continue our good play from the last month."
Wu agreed.
"I'm super-confident in what we've been doing and excited to showcase that at home once more," he said.
