While they’d go on to finish in eighth place, NorCal natives and buddies Isaiah Salinda and Kevin Velo were the talk of the recent PGA Tour Zurich Classic of New Orleans.
In the first round of the Four-Ball event, Salinda and Velo posted a record score of 14-under 58. Just a bit earlier in the day, twins Rasmus and Nicolai Højgaard tied the tournament record at TPC Louisiana with a 59.
"He played great. He made a ton of putts. He one-putted damn near every green it seemed like," Velo said of Salinda to PGA Tour Media. "Very easy to play golf when you have a partner that's stacking it and making a lot of putts. A few really clutch par saves that he had on the back nine, and it was a very, very solid day, but overall, we kind of fed off each other, and I kind of sprinkled in some birdies when we needed to. But pretty much I was on his back the whole day."
The two long-term friends could not have drawn up a better start as Salinda opened with a pair of early birdies. Velo then got in on the action with a birdie on the par-3 3rd. Soon after Salinda, winner of the 2017 NCGA Amateur, made three straight birdies from Nos. 4-6 before posting an eagle on the par-5 7th. The duo stood at 8-under through its first seven holes, and Velo made sure to keep a good thing going with birdies on Nos. 8-9 to close out a front nine that required only 26 strokes.
"I think it helps a lot. I honestly think it's more important to play with someone you like and someone you enjoy playing with, one of your friends," Salinda said. "It's really cool. We only get to play this format really once a year, and we've known each other since we were young junior golfers. We've stayed incredibly close friends since, and we've been looking forward to this event for a while."