SHRINERS CHILDREN'S OPEN

October 14, 2023

Isaiah Salinda

TPC Summerlin

Quick Quotes

Q. Isaiah, quite the round from the two of you out there. Take us through how it felt for you.

ISAIAH SALINDA: Yeah, it was a fun round to be a part of. I think right from the start, we started making birdies from the get-go. It was nice to see his putts go in and my birdie putts go in, too. The birdies were flying, and we just tried to keep it going.

Q. You enter a tournament like a Monday Q; is this what you dream about putting yourself in a spot entering a final round?

ISAIAH SALINDA: For sure, yeah, we all kind of play for the same reasons, to have a chance. We'll see how that holds up. A lot of groups still to come in, but yeah, it's just a good round that I hope to build on tomorrow.

Q. What has your last few weeks been in terms of playing competitive golf that got you ready for this?

ISAIAH SALINDA: Yeah, I've kind of had the last few weeks off. My last Korn Ferry event was in Columbus, Ohio. I missed the TOUR Championship by a few spots.

I took a couple days off, but I knew there was still a lot to play for the rest of the year and decided to do this Monday, and glad I did. Just hoping to take advantage of it.

Q. Anything in particular about your game you felt like was really working today?

ISAIAH SALINDA: You know, tee to green was solid. I felt like I didn't even hit it great, but I gave myself a lot of chances, and the putter got pretty hot.

Yeah, just hope to continue that tomorrow.

Q. I noticed in the qualifier you listed Vegas as your hometown. Are you a Vegas person now?

ISAIAH SALINDA: Yeah, I moved here at the beginning of the year. But yeah, I'm from south San Francisco originally but made the move out here earlier this year.

Q. What led to choosing Las Vegas as a home?

ISAIAH SALINDA: I'm a West Coast guy and wanted to stay on the West Coast, and I know a bunch of the players out here, and I just wanted to be around that better competition to push me and make me better.

I think it's paid off, and definitely happy being here having Vegas as my home base now.

Q. When you're standing on the tee box on a Monday qualifier, do you think, gosh, it would be nice to shoot a 63 on a Saturday?

ISAIAH SALINDA: No. No. That's looking a little bit too far ahead. Just focused on the task at hand, and on Monday it was just making as many birdies as I can. Once the tournament started, just tried to keep that going, and yeah, it's been going all right so far.

Q. As far as pressure, more pressure at a qualifier knowing there's only four spots, or more pressure actually playing out here?

ISAIAH SALINDA: I think there's always a little more pressure playing out here. On the weekend I feel like you're playing a little bit more, but just try and treat it the same. We play this for a living. But that's what we do, and try and treat it the same way.

Q. Do you have a home course out here?

ISAIAH SALINDA: Yeah, I play out here a ton and practice out here a lot and also belong to Southern Highlands. Between those two courses, it's been a pretty good setup.

Q. That's where you know all the guys from?

ISAIAH SALINDA: Yeah.