Stanford’s Isaiah Salinda takes nothing for granted
PEBBLE BEACH — Stanford’s Isaiah Salinda played Pebble Beach on Monday, then Spyglass Hill on Tuesday. He will return to Pebble on Wednesday for the opening round of match play in the 118th U.S. Amateur Championship.
Just another pampered golfer who takes for granted his access to the nation’s premier courses? Not at all. Salinda grew up in South San Francisco, the son of a dad (Tony) who drives a forklift at the post office and a mom (Debbie) who works as a nurse at Kaiser. Tony Salinda routinely worked the swing shift from 3:30 p.m. to midnight when Isaiah was younger, then stayed four more hours to earn extra income.
Isaiah Salinda realizes his parents’ commitment helped send him and his older brother, Daryl, to high school at Serra. And that set in motion his journey to Stanford and his ascent in amateur golf, with a realistic eye on launching a pro career after he graduates next year.
“They were huge in shaping my work ethic,” Salinda said Tuesday. “Nothing came easy: You’ve got to work for everything. They’ve made so many sacrifices. They took me everywhere and never complained about all the hours they worked.”
Tony and Debbie Salinda, like many parents, juggled their jobs and child-care duties. This included Tony’s occasional visits to the practice range, where young Isaiah started smacking shots at age 3 and soon became captivated by golf.
He first played the nine-hole course at Golden Gate Park, then moved up to Mariners Point in Foster City and later the Fleming course at Harding Park in San Francisco.
Now he’s playing big-boy tracks, competing against the game’s top amateurs. Salinda was an honorable mention All-American last season at Stanford, and he’s ranked No. 67 in this week’s world amateur ranking, the byproduct of a strong summer.
Most notably, he won the Pacific Coast Amateur last month at the Olympic Club, where Salinda was a junior member in his teenage years (thanks to a family friend’s sponsorship). The victory included setting the competitive course record of 62 on the Lake Course, a famously stout layout where the U.S. Open has been held five times.
Stanford coach Conrad Ray, who watched Salinda play at Spyglass, described him as refreshingly down-to-earth even as his golf profile rises.
“Sometimes, you walk around Pebble Beach for a couple of days, and do all the things you get to do as a Stanford golfer, you need to stay grounded,” Ray said. “Isaiah just shows up and works hard, and I think he appreciates everything that comes his way.
“I’d hate to say that’s unique in college golf today, but there’s a lot of entitlement. So it’s neat to see him take advantage of his situation and be super thankful for what he has.”
Salinda struggled Tuesday at Spyglass, making two double bogeys on his way to 4-over-par 76. He still advanced to match play because of his 3-under 68 at Pebble Beach on Monday.
Now he essentially starts over, as one of 64 players to begin single-elimination match play. It will require six victories over the next five days to join Bobby Jones, Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer and Tiger Woods (among others) as winners of the U.S. Amateur.
“It’s just a cool opportunity,” Salinda said. “This is the tournament everyone wants to win.”
His parents, naturally, were there Tuesday. Salinda’s mom has worked the past 27 years at Kaiser in South San Francisco, his dad the past 30 at the post office on Evans Street in San Francisco.
Tony Salinda, 60, hopes to retire after two more years. In the meantime, he’s more than happy to hang out on the Monterey Peninsula, watching his son chase another trophy. Briefly: Other Bay Area players to advance to match play included Collin Morikawa (Cal), Shintaro Ban (San Jose), Joshua McCarthy (Danville), Justin Suh (San Jose) and Ryan Burnett (Lafayette) . ... Cole Hammer (Houston) and Daniel Hillier (New Zealand) shared strokeplay medalist honors at 6-under . ... Among those to miss the cut: Gary Nicklaus (son of Jack), Carter Toms (son of David) and Thomas Lehman (son of Tom).