Playing in your first professional event can be a daunting prospect, especially when you're just 15-years-old. However, in Mia Hammond's case, she took it all in her stride, with the American carding two rounds of 68 on Thursday and Friday for a six-under tournament total which puts her inside the top 20 at the Dana Open.
Hammond, who actually Monday qualified for the tournament, is still an amateur but, despite a double bogey during her second round, she managed to recover with five birdies to put herself above a calibre of big name players, including a few Major winners.
Mia Hammond is the youngest player in the field this week at 15 years old 👇She shot 66 at the Monday qualifier for the @danaopenlpga, carded 68 (-3) on both Thursday and Friday, and will make the cut to play on the weekend! She is currently T20 at -6👊 pic.twitter.com/mQ4e0xcl8LJuly 14, 2023
"It's so amazing. It's honestly a dream come true. I've put in a lot of work over the winter and beginning of the season this year, and it's so great to see it finally pay off. I had a few rough tournaments here and there, so just so relieved," stated Hammond after her second round.
"I was a little nervous going into today. The nerves didn't really hit until the third or fourth hole. But I got myself leveled out pretty quickly. It's just a different environment than anything I've been used to. So it's a matter of getting a feel for everyone being out there and just taking in the surroundings more than anything else. But again, I'm so thankful to have this experience and I'm never going to forget this.
"I would say for now I'm going to set a goal as top 20. If it happens to be better than that, then that's great. I'm just here for the experience more than anything else. Playing on the LPGA Tour is a dream of mine in the future. So just getting a feel for what it's actually like to be out here is more important to me."
Hammond isn't the only teenage star who has made an impact on the golf world recently. Louise Uma Landgraf, a 14-year-old French amateur, secured the Terre Blanche Ladies Open on the LET Access Series after coming through a three-way playoff.
Along with Landgraf, 13-year-old Louis Klein became the youngest ever player to make a cut on the Challenge Tour, at 13 years, 9 months and 24 days. Playing in the Kaskada Golf Challenge, Klein shot two rounds of level-par to make the weekend, with another level-par round on Saturday being followed up with a five-over-par round on Sunday.
