SHRINERS CHILDREN'S OPEN

October 15, 2023

Isaiah Salinda

TPC Summerlin

Quick Quotes

Q. Isaiah, T7 finish. That'll be good enough to get you into Mexico in a couple weeks. How does that feel?

ISAIAH SALINDA: That's great, yeah. I just heard that in the scoring trailer. It's obviously great news. Looking forward to that.

But yeah, just a very special week. Glad to cap it off with that.

Q. What was it like to kind of find your groove? You've been on the KFT, played out here, this was your fifth cut, so you've been out here, but to contend against some of the best players in the world, how was that?

ISAIAH SALINDA: Yeah, like you said, it's been a little bit of a while since I played a TOUR event, but I felt pretty comfortable out here for most of the week. I feel like my game is good enough to compete with these guys. A lot of different ways to get here, and just still kind of figuring out my path, but yeah, very pleased with the week.

Q. When you enter on a Monday, this is probably exactly what you're hoping for. When you got into the Monday, did you allow yourself to think about something like this? Were you just trying to take it one day at a time?

ISAIAH SALINDA: Not really, to be honest. Thursday and Friday was such a grind and I was just trying to kind of check off the first goal of just playing the weekend and then kind of reassessing from there. Yeah, I tried not to think of the result too much, just tried to stay in the moment and enjoy the environment out there.

Q. A little bit of a slower start to this round. Obviously you got working later. Was it something swing-wise going on? Was it nerves? What clicked for you later?

ISAIAH SALINDA: Yeah, was just a little bit off to start. Had to grind out some pars there early and didn't have my best stuff out there, but I know this course so well. I knew that birdies and even eagles are gettable on the back nine. My caddie and I were just telling each other to stay patient, and eventually good things would come.

Q. Was it something you found kind of during this break between KFT and now? Anything you felt like clicked between the end of that season and this now?

ISAIAH SALINDA: To be honest, not really. I think I needed more of a mental reset more than anything. It was a long, grueling season physically, too, but yeah, like you said, it was a little disappointing finish to that year, but just tried to regroup and get back on it, and glad to have Mondayed in and played in this event.

Q. You moved here in January; what's the decision behind that, to move here to Las Vegas? I guess you play out of here and Southern Highlands?

ISAIAH SALINDA: Correct. Yeah, it was kind of a couple years in the making, trying to make this move, with everything that kind of delayed it a little bit. But that was kind of always the plan after finishing school. Vegas just made a lot of sense to me, just being a West Coast guy, still close to home in the Bay Area. That's the main reason, just to be around these players and push myself to be better and learn some things from them.

Q. Who are some of the guys that you're playing with on a daily basis?

ISAIAH SALINDA: I was teammates with Maverick McNealy who lives in the area, Kurt Kitayama, Doug Ghim, Collin, Justin Suh. It's a long list, so it's definitely a good group out here, a lot of people I know.

Q. Here you are, you've already talked about it a little bit, but as you try to digest this, what's the first thing that comes to your mind as you're standing there right now?

ISAIAH SALINDA: Yeah, it's still so fresh. I'm sure it'll sink in a little bit more. Two weeks ago I never would have thought playing this event I'd have a chance to play my way into Cabo two weeks from now. Just going to enjoy this with my family and get back on it.

Q. What's it like to be in a tournament like this and the PGA TOUR in general giving back to charity?

ISAIAH SALINDA: It's so awesome. You see it at pretty much all the events we play out here. It's such a great sponsor to have supporting this event. There's a few kids out here walking with us out here, too, meeting them. You can tell they're excited to be out here (indiscernible).