LPGA Tour
A 15-year-old Monday qualifier makes LPGA cut, while Rose Zhang fades and misses weekend
Amateur Mia Hammond lines up her putt on the fourth green during the first round of the Dana Open.
Dylan Buell
It’s been another week and another emergence of a talented young player on the LPGA Tour.
With back-to-back rounds of 68, 15-year-old Monday qualifier Mia Hammond of New Albany, Ohio, reached the weekend in her home state at the Dana Open.
“To know that I did that [make the cut], it's just, it is a breath of fresh air,” Hammond said at Highland Meadows Golf Club in Sylvania. “It's so, just relieving, it takes a lot of stress off my chest. I can go to the weekend having fun and just never forget it.”
Hammond is a rising sophomore in high school and is No. 6 in the Class of 2026 junior rankings. Her feat follows in the leads of other high-schoolers, including Anna Davis, who played in and made the cut in numerous LPGA events last summer after winning the 2022 Augusta National Women’s Amateur. Gianna Clemente, who is No. 1 in the Class of 2026, advanced through three Monday qualifiers last summer, but didn’t make the cut.
Hammond entered the third round on Saturday five shots behind leader Annie Park.
“I would say, for now, I'm going to set a goal as top 20,” Hammond said. “If it happens to be better than that, then that's great.”
While Hammond made the weekend, a high-profile young player did not. Rose Zhang, the 20-year-old former amateur World No. 1, who posted three top-10s, including a victory, in her first three starts in the LPGA as a pro, followed an opening 66 with a 77 on Friday.