Mia Hammond shows she can compete with the world's best golfers

CINCINNATI — Mia Hammond is no longer a secret.

That’s what happens when you pick up some 3,000 social media followers in a day, the result of being 15 years old and playing nose-to-nose with the big girls of professional golf.

That's precisely what happened to the Crooksville native and New Albany High School sophomore in July at the LPGA Dana Open in Toledo, and what essentially gave her another shot to compete last week at the Kroger Queen City Classic.

She missed the cut after a second-round 77 left her at 5-over for the tournament, but she no doubt has strong momentum heading into the rest of her season.

She will play a limited schedule with the Eagles in their quest to win the Division I state title.

"This past week has been a great learning opportunity for me and going forward," Mia said. "It truly shows where I need to grow my game. Even though the outcome wasn’t what I wanted, I’m still grateful for the chance to have been able to play in the tournament."

A 'surreal' summer

Mia called her 2023 golf experience "surreal," and one filled with a roller coaster of emotions. She admittedly started the amateur tournament season slow, fighting one bad round in four-round tournaments.

They cost her wins in some cases.

"I think toward the end of the season I think figured out how to eliminate that," Mia said. "I think it was just a specific mindset that I was in, that it was going to happen after the first two times. I figured that out and the last three months have been pretty solid. Especially since the Dana, it was just such a huge confidence booster for me."

She made national waves after finishing tied for 26th at the Dana, where her fan following was among the most lively — and largest — at the event. Her Instagram spike was the result of being tagged in a post by The Golf Channel.

She had plenty of supporters on hand for both events, from Perry County and New Albany alike, but admitted the attention and pressure that accompanied it was overwhelming at times.

"At Toledo is really hit me," Mia said. "There were so many news reporters and just media there in general with cameras, and I wasn't used to it at that point."

The golf momentum hasn’t stopped, even if life as a student has picked up since school started.

She spent the night before the opening round of the Queen City doing homework online at her hotel, which came after she played in the pro-am event and worked on her short game into the early evening.

She shot even-par 72 on the first day at Kenwood Country Club, a fate that would have been far better with some luck on the greens on the back nine.

Her approach accuracy, perhaps the biggest strength of her game, bit her in Round 2. After hitting 14 of 18 greens on Thursday, she hit only nine on Friday. She actually had one less putt (31) on Friday than Thursday (32).

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She said prior to the event that she simply wanted to take in the experience and hope to make the cut. Like her Dana experience, she knows she is fortunate to get big stage experience at young age.

Her golf future will depend on how her game continues to progress. She was the only amateur in the field at Kenwood and, for one day and nine holes, again showed she can compete with the world’s top players.

And she’s not even old enough to drive.

“I was very unsure going into the Dana, specifically, of what I wanted to do,” Mia said. “The U.S. Women’s Amateur last summer showed that I could definitely do something with the game career related. After the Dana it just became very obvious that it could be a part of my future — if I put the work into it and hold myself accountable to specific things.”

Never a dull moment

Learning on the fly and performing a golf-school-life balancing act is all part of the daily routine. She gets most of her practice at The Golf Room, in Dublin, where her father, Tom, is an instructor.

"I feel like I am handling it pretty decently," Mia said. "I go hang out with my friends a few times a week and do something along those lines to get my mind away from golf."

Tom said that if Mia's grades weren't up to standard, she would not be playing the amount of travel golf currently on her schedule. She is thriving in school, taking AP honors classes.

Tom and wife Terra, Mia's mom, are Crooksville grads with college degrees.

“She’s a quick learner, which she definitely gets from her mother — she was the valedictorian of her class (in 1998 at Crooksville),” Tom said. “Thankfully she is able to pick up on things quickly.”

Mia said it has been a challenge completing make-up work online.

"My teachers have been very easy for the most part," she said. "They are very accepting of me missing a lot of school, just very helpful in that sense."

The Queen City was her 12th tournament in 2023, which followed an even busier 2022. That season was capped with the Eagles’ high school team at the Division I state tournament, but she also got the U.S. Women’s Am experience prior.

Tom, also her coach, was on her bag for both LPGA events.

"It has been a lot of fun," Mia said. "I wouldn't rather have anyone else on my bag this week. It's really helpful, knowing I live in the same house. When I need help with my golf game, it's like, 'Hey dad can you come look at my swing?' It's definitely relieving, and I wouldn't want anyone else helping me."

Tom said the family had to change their lives, which meant him not working full time to be available for Mia's events. He admits it has been a challenge on multiple fronts.

"The AJGA events where they don't have caddies is so much easier on me emotionally and physically, but I wouldn't change it for the world," Tom said. "I know she likes having me on the bag, and she seems to perform well when I am there. Maybe it gives her a little extra security."

At the pro events, she saw firsthand the sort of routine required to be among the world’s elite. At the Dana, she won a Monday qualifier just to earn a spot in the event. Six more days of golf followed between the practice round, pro-am and event itself.

“It truly is a job for these players out here,” Mia said. “They don’t go and work in an office building for eight hours, they’re out on the course for eight hours a day. People always assume it’s a really easy thing to do, and it’s truly not. It's a lot of work mentally and physically, but I think eventually I will get myself to that point. I think it's a really good career path for me in the future."

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A new opportunity

Two days into her stay in Cincinnati, she and two other teens were named to the U.S. National Developmental Program. That will allow her to compete at the World Junior Championships in Ontario, Canada, in October.

According to Golf Digest, Mia will join 17-year-old Molly Brown Davidson, of Alabama, and 16-year-old Chloe Kevelesky, of Florida, on a team coached by 2014 Women's British Open champion Mo Martin.

United States Golf Association Managing Director of Player Relations and Development Heather Daly-Donofrio said in a press release that the initial picks to the team are "a momentous point in the history of junior golf in the United States," adding that it will pave a path for future players and that "for too long the United States has lagged in the nurturing of junior golfing talent."

It's yet another notch in Mia's belt and another step toward more decisions later. She said last week that her path as of now is to play in college, although coaches can't contact her until next summer.

"I'm going to keep my options as open as possible," she said, adding she's going to take the recruiting process "very seriously."

"I'm going to talk to everyone and see how many options I have, how many paths I have," Mia said. "If the Tour is a good decision for me when I am 18, I may potentially do that, but as of now I don't think that's the path I will be taking."

Tom believes his daughter is one of the best in the world for her age, adding that it was evident from her early childhood that she had rare gifts. But he also knows she is far from a finished product.

"She's young and has maturing to do," Tom said. "There are always parts of the game to get better. Obviously, some of these girls have very mature short games. Mia probably doesn't have as mature of a short game as some of them. But the long game and ball-striking wise? She can do anything with the golf ball."

sblackbu@gannett.com; Twitter: @SamBlackburnTR

This article originally appeared on Zanesville Times Recorder: Golfer Mia Hammond of Crooksville has had an unforgettable summer