Isaiah Salinda got hot in round 1 (Stanford photo)
By Art Stricklin
COLUMBUS, OH (July 10, 2018) – Stanford senior-to-be
Isaiah Salinda poured in nine birdies at the historic Brookside Country Club in the first round of the 115th Trans-Mississippi Championship Tuesday before the Central Ohio skies opened up with heavy rain and lightning later in the afternoon, suspending the first round.
While nobody in the afternoon wave finished their round, there was nobody within five strokes of Salinda when played was called after the scorched the course with a 8-under 64, including four straight birdies on the front nine after bogeying the first hole.
“I left myself in a lot of good positions off the tee and when you get it going on this course, you can score some good numbers,” he said.
That exactly what happened on the Ohio course where Jack Nicklaus once learned to play. After a three-putt bogey on the par 4 first hole, Salinda birdied holes 2-5 along with the par-3 eighth for an opening nine 32 followed by a bogeyless 32 on the back nine as well.
“I feel like I’ve been hitting it well and playing well and it all came together.”
Related: 115th Trans-Miss Preview: Making and Celebrating History
Perhaps in a national amateur tournament being held in Ohio for the first time to honor the 60th anniversary of Columbus native and six-time Masters champion Jack Nicklaus first Trans-Miss victory, it was only fitting the grandson of another Masters Champion was right in the thick of the competition.
Pierceson Coody, whose grandfather Charles won the 1971 Masters, was tied for second place after round one with a sterling 66, two shots behind at six under par.
“I’ve put in a lot of work to make my putting and my ball striking a lot more consistent and it’s paid off early,” said Coody.
He earlier had won the AJGA Thunderbird Classic and the prestigious Byron Nelson Junior Championship in Dallas.
Coody also shot a 32 on the back nine of Brookside with a 34 on the front nine as five birdies offset an early bogey and double bogey.
Justin Tereshko (Lexington, KY) was also tied for second at 66 with the third 32 on the back nine, carding a bogeyless nine holes to finish two shots out of the early lead.
University of South Dakota rising senior
Tom Vining (Sioux Falls, SD) and Texas A&M junior
Brandon Smith were third with a 67. Duke University senior-to-be
Alex Smalley, the highest ranked amateur in the field at No. 9, shot an opening round 70 and is six shots back.
Salinda said he had never played Brookside before and never had even been to Ohio, but was coming off a good spring at Stanford which saw him finish 15th in the NCAA Championship at Karsten Creek, in Stillwater, Oklahoma and some high finishes on amateur events this summer. He said his opening 64 was a career tournament low for him in his college amateur career.
“I’m glad I could shoot a low score in a tournament. This course just fits my eye. If you hit it in the fairway, you can have success.”
He was so accurate with his irons on Tuesday, that his only long putt for par came on the par-3 17th where he rolled in a 27th footer to cap his first round birdie binge.
“I’ve played in the Trans-Miss two other times, finished tied for seventh last year and I like the way they run their tournament. There are only a few more places to move up.”
Play was suspended for the day at 4 pm EDT and will resume Wednesday at 8 am. Round 2 will follow directly after.
ABOUT THE Trans-Miss Championship
The Trans-Miss is one of the oldest and
most storied golf tournaments in the United
States.
For 106 years the championship
was played in a match play format.
Past champions include Jack Nicklaus (1958
and 1959), Charles Coe (1947, 1949, 1952 and
1956), Deane Beman (1960), George Archer
(1963), Ben Crenshaw (1972), Gary Koch
(1973), Bob Tway (1978), Mark Brooks (1978)
and other professional tour notables. In
1987 the championship was changed to a mid-
amateur age requirement, and a senior division
was also added. Starting in 2010, the Trans-
Mississippi Championship, returned to its roots
as an
open amateur tournament, and immediately
established itself as a "must-play" among
top collegiate and mid-am players, while
changing to
a 72-hole stroke play format. The field size
starts at
144 players from Trans-
Mississippi Golf Association member clubs (or
players receiving a special invitation from the
Championship Committee). After 36 holes, a cut
is
made to the low 54 and ties who play the final
two
rounds.
View Complete Tournament Information