Isaiah Salinda, Wil Bateman share lead heading into final round at The Panama Championship

Things to Know

• Both seeking their first Korn Ferry Tour win, Canadian Wil Bateman and 26-year-old Isaiah Salinda share the 54-hole lead at 7-under 203, one stroke ahead of Korn Ferry Tour winner Brandon Harkins
• Neither Bateman nor Salinda stood higher than T4 through 54 holes in any of their previous Korn Ferry Tour starts (51 combined starts)
• Harkins follows a second-round 4-under 66 with 3-under 67 Saturday to move into solo third; he is the only player standing T6 or higher with a Korn Ferry Tour victory (2022 The Bahamas Great Abaco Classic)
• Rookie and 18-hole co-leader Trey Winstead bounces back from 2-over 72 in second round with 2-under 68 in third round, moving from T6 to T4 with Ryan Gerard at 5-under 205
• Panamanian amateur Omar Tejeira records birdie-par-par finish on Nos. 16-18 Saturday morning to post second-round 1-under 69 and make the 36-hole cut on the number (2-over 142), becomes the first amateur to make the cut in history of The Panamá Championship (20th playing of the event this week)

Charting the Co-Leaders

Wil Bateman (T1/-7)

• Posts the low round of the week, carding a third-round 6-under 64 with seven birdies – including three of the four par 3s (Nos. 8, 13, 17) – and a bogey at the par-4 ninth
• Makes one of only three birdies recorded at the 203-yard 17th in the third round, and one of five birdies recorded at the 202-yard 13th in the third round
• Holds first 54-hole lead / co-lead in what is his 29th career start and second season on the Korn Ferry Tour (previous career-high 54-hole position: T5/2023 The Panamá Championship/finished T4)
• Finished No. 68 on the 2023 Korn Ferry Tour Points List (earned fully exempt status for 2024), posting a pair of T4 finishes in the season’s first three events (The Bahamas Great Exuma Classic at Sandals Emerald Bay, The Panamá Championship) for his only top-10s as a Korn Ferry Tour rookie last season
• Had not stood higher than T4 after any round on the Korn Ferry Tour prior to Saturday
• Entered the week with missed cuts in both 2024 season-opening events in The Bahamas
• Two-time winner on PGA TOUR Canada, with both victories coming in 2022 en route to finishing No. 1 in the Fortinet Cup standings for fully exempt Korn Ferry Tour membership in 2023
• Also won on PGA TOUR Latinoamérica in 2015, capturing the Hyundai-BBVA 89 Abierto de Chile title and becoming the first Canadian to win a PGA TOUR Latinoamérica event
• Played primarily on PGA TOUR Canada until 2022; he also played two full seasons on PGA TOUR Latinoamérica (2015 and 2019)
• Turned professional at age 18 following one season (2011-12) at San Diego State University
• Notably finished T3 at the 2011 Canadian Amateur Championship roughly a month prior to his 18th birthday; he shared third place with future two-time PGA TOUR winner Corey Conners (and two others), with the group finishing behind runner-up Albin Choi and champion Mackenzie Hughes (also a two-time TOUR winner)

Isaiah Salinda (T1/-7)

• Holds first 54-hole lead / co-lead in what is his 24th career start on the Korn Ferry Tour (previous career-high 54-hole position: T4/2023 AdventHealth Championship/finished T9)
• Making first start of the 2024 season after a No. 80 finish on the 2023 Korn Ferry Tour Points List, which earned him conditional membership and an exemption to Second Stage of 2023 PGA TOUR Q-School presented by Korn Ferry
• Finished T21 at Final Stage of 2023 PGA TOUR Q-School presented by Korn Ferry for guaranteed starts in the first 12 events of the 2024 season
• Qualified for Final Stage of 2023 PGA TOUR Q-School presented by Korn Ferry through the Valencia, California site of Second Stage
• Recorded a top-10 on both the Korn Ferry Tour (T9/2023 AdventHealth Championship) and PGA TOUR (T7/2023 Shriners Children’s Open) last season
• Played the 2021 season on the Forme Tour, and 2022 season on PGA TOUR Canada
• Turned professional in 2019 after four seasons at Stanford University (2015-19), where he was a 2019 All-America Second Team selection and helped Stanford win the team national title at the 2019 NCAA Championship, which was the program’s first national title since 2007

Quotables

Wil Bateman on the change in conditions this weekend… “There was a little bit of wind today, but it was a complete opposite direction. It definitely made it more challenging. I thought No. 11 played a little tougher today. They moved us to a different box and that kind of plays a little mind game with you. I love this golf course, love being in Latin America. The way that it plays firm and fast is super cool, so obviously scores are not going to be too low.”

Bateman on his path to the Korn Ferry Tour… “It's obviously been a challenge. I wouldn't say I necessarily was prepared to turn pro at 18. I think I was just a dumb kid back then, didn't know anything. But I obviously learned a lot. I played on (PGA TOUR Latinoamérica) when I was 21, ended up winning out there, and then obviously gone through the steps of mini tours, and played great on (PGA TOUR Canada) a couple years ago. I'm just trying to just get better every day and get better every year and hopefully it takes you where you want to be.”

Ryan Gerard on what conditions he expects for the final round… “It's just going to get firmer. I'm assuming the pin placements, a few of the ones that they haven't used yet, some of them are going to be really hard, some are going to be really easy, so big disparity between good shots and bad shots out there. Just going to be a premium on quality struck shots into the greens. And whoever can make a few putts towards the end of the round is going to be the guy that holds the trophy. Just going to really go out there and trust the process, go handle my business and see what happens.”

Additional Player Notes

• Korn Ferry Tour winner BrandonHarkins (3rd/-6), who finished No. 70 on the 2023 Korn Ferry Tour Points List to maintain fully exempt status for 2024, stands inside the top five through 54 holes for the first time since the 2022 The Bahamas Great Abaco Classic at The Abaco Club, where he earned his first Korn Ferry Tour win (stood solo second through 54 holes/won in playoff)
• Making his fourth career Korn Ferry Tour start, rookie TreyWinstead (T4/-5) counters four bogeys with six birdies for 2-under 68; he is seeking his first finish higher than T43/2023 Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Kansas Wichita Open Benefitting KU Wichita Pediatrics
• Second-year member Ryan Gerard (T4/-5), who earned and accepted PGA TOUR Special Temporary Membership in April 2023 and played the rest of the year on TOUR, stands T5 or higher through 54 holes for the third time in what is his 10th career start on the Korn Ferry Tour (T5/2023 The Panamá Championship/finished T41; T2/2023 astara Golf Championship/finished T3)
• Zach Bauchou (T6/-4), who finished No. 82 on the 2023 Korn Ferry Tour Points List in just eight starts, matches his career-high 54-hole position in what is his 12th career start on Tour (T6/2023 Pinnacle Bank Championship/finished T5)
  • Bauchou was the second-to-last player in this week’s field (No. 142 of 144)
  • Bauchou qualified for the first three events of the 2023 Korn Ferry Tour Finals despite beginning the season without status on a PGA TOUR-sanctioned tour; his run to a top 85 finish on the Points List – which earned him conditional status for the 2024 season – began with a T4 as a sponsor exemption at the 2023 Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Kansas Wichita Open last June
• Two-time PGA TOUR winner RobertStreb (T8/-3) and PGA TOUR winner Austin Cook (T8/-3) are making their first Korn Ferry Tour starts since June 2020 and September 2022, respectively