Before they turned pro: Isaiah Salinda
2/23/2025 | by Justin Golba of AmateurGolf.com
Salinda won his first Korn Ferry Tour event, and now has recorded his first top five finish on the PGA Tour
Isaiah Salinda carded rounds of 65-67-68-65 to finish 19-under and in solo third place at the Mexico Open, just one shot back of the playoff between Brian Campbell and Aldrich Potgieter.
Salinda recorded a final-round 6-under 65 to shoot up the leaderboard and challenge the guys at the top.
"I'm a little disappointed right now that I came up just this short, but I'm just proud of the way I played," Salinda told the PGA Tour after his round. "Sunday with a chance to win that was all I wanted to do today was give myself a chance to win."
He recorded his first professional win at the Panama Championship at Panama Golf Club on the Korn Ferry Tour by a tournament-record eight shots over Wil Bateman, Keenan Husky, and Trent Phillips. Salinda shot 12-under with rounds of 70-65-68-65 to win.
“The golf course is amazing. I'm very excited to win here in Panama,” Salinda told the PGA Tour after the win. “I think the only time I looked at the leaderboard was on No. 9 or 10… it was still pretty stacked. After No. 12, I knew I had a pretty good cushion and didn't look at any leaderboards after that.”
The win tied the fourth-largest margin of victory in Korn Ferry Tour history.
Salinda, who shared the 54-hole lead with Bateman, shot a final-round 5-under 65 to finish 12-under. Salinda was the only player in the final five twosomes who shot even-par or better, and he was one of only four players who carded a 65 or better Sunday to secure the win.
Salinda’s eight-stroke win marked the largest margin of victory at a Korn Ferry Tour event since Sam Ryder’s eight-stroke win at the 2017 Pinnacle Bank Championship. It also shattered the tournament record for a margin of victory of five strokes, established by Jimmy Walker at the inaugural playing of The Championship in 2004.
Salinda had a storied amateur career, playing at Stanford and making the semifinals of the 2018 U.S. Amateur, falling to Devon Bling, and the round of 16 at the 2019 U.S. Amateur, falling to current Notre Dame standout Palmer Jackson.
Salinda also won the 2018 Pacific Coast Amateur and the 2019 Western Collegiate. A friend of the AmateurGolf.com Tour, Salinda placed T5 at the 2018 Silicon Valley Amateur. In the 2018 Pacific Coast Amateur, Salinda shot a 9-under 62 at the Olympic Club, setting the course record en route to his win.
Salinda won the 2019 NCAA Division I Southwest Regional and finished T6 at the 2019 NCAA Division I Championships. He was a part of the 2019 Stanford team that won the NCAA Championships.
The Isaiah Salinda File
Born: March 13, 1997 in San Francisco, Calif.
Parents: Son of Antonio and Debbie Salinda
Residence: Las Vegas, Nev.
Amateur Victories
2016 San Jose City
2017 NCGA Amateur Championship
2018 Pacific Coast Amateur
2019 Western Collegiate
2019 NCAA Division I Southwest Regional
International Competition
2019 Walker Cup
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