Isaiah Salinda strips for wild water shot at Cognizant Classic 2026

Isaiah Salinda removed his shoes, socks, rolled up his pants and even took off his white shirt before blasting a ball out of a greenside lake on Friday, an outsize moment during a difficult week at the cognizant classic 2026 in the Palm Beaches. The shot briefly found the green but Salinda missed the par putt and remained well down the leaderboard.

Cognizant Classic 2026: shirtless water shot

On the par-3 17th, playing 171 yards on Friday’s second round, Salinda missed the green and his ball settled barely in the greenside lake. He removed his shoes and socks, rolled up his pants and then removed his white shirt before taking the shot from the water. The ball cleared the hazard and reached the green, but the ensuing par putt was missed while his shirt remained untucked. That sequence resulted in a bogey that dropped him further down the scoreboard.

Score trouble on the back nine

Salinda began the week with a 6-over 77 and opened Friday with a birdie on the 10th hole, but the back nine quickly unraveled. On the par-4 11th he carded a quadruple bogey 8 after a wayward drive led to a 50-something-yard punch out; his third shot went into the water. His fourth cleared the lake but just missed the green, and from about 25 feet he needed four more shots to reach the cup on that hole. By the time he reached 17, he was already several strokes over par for the week.

What comes next for Salinda

By the time Friday play concluded, Salinda was listed at 10 over for the tournament after the bogey at 17 — a position described in the coverage as three shots ahead of last place. His water recovery found the green but the missed putt kept his round from gaining back ground. A handful of other players at the same event also attempted similar water recoveries this week, with names noted in coverage including David Ford, Nico Echavarria and K. H. Lee attempting comparable shots from hazards.

• Opened the week with a 6-over 77.
• Quadruple bogey 8 on the par-4 11th after a drive went off-line and a subsequent shot found the water.
• Removed shoes, socks and shirt to play a ball from the greenside lake on the par-3 17th; the ball reached the green but the par putt was missed.

Short-term implications are straightforward and conditional: if the scoring pattern seen through Friday persists, Salinda will remain toward the bottom of the final standings for the event. The shirtless water shot became a notable moment of the day and will likely be replayed in immediate coverage of the tournament, but the numerical indicators — the opening 6-over 77, the quadruple bogey on 11, and a 10-over standing after 17 — are the concrete measures that will determine how his week concludes.