See how 15-year-old Mia Hammond fared at the Kroger Queen City Classic

CINCINNATI — Back nine struggles bit Mia Hammond hard again on Friday.

After making the turn at even-par and two shots off the cutline at the LPGA Kroger Queen City Classic, the 15-year-old Crooksville native and New Albany High School sophomore closed with a 5-over 41 on the back and finished with 5-over 77 at Kenwood Country Club.

She finished at 149 — it took 143 to make the cut. She was the only amateur in the 141-player field.

Hammond started on the back nine, where she shot 2-over in the first round, but came back to shoot even on that side on Friday. The front nine got her in the second round, making her first bogey at the par-4 first, another at the par-4 fifth.

Still two shots behind the cutline, she played the final three holes at 3-over. After hitting 14 greens in regulation on Thursday she hit only nine on Friday.

On Thursday, Hammond saw her 6-foot par putt slip just past the hole on her par-4 18th, as she settled for an even-par 72 in the Kroger Queen City Classic at Kenwood Country Club.

She is currently tied for 71st, seven shots back of leader Ruixin Liu, who played two groups in front of her in the morning wave. Hammond was two shots out of the top 30 as of 4 p.m. as other rounds were being completed.

Hammond reached as low as 2-under following a birdie on the par-5 12th, but missed chances on the greens cost her down the stretch.

She missed modest birdie attempts on the 13th, 15th, 16th and 17th holes, while a par putt after missing the green short side on the par-3 14th also netted a close miss.

Her par at 17 still left her 1-under entering the 18th, but she hit her drive into the primary rough. Left with a long downhill approach, she pushed her 3-hybrid into the green side bunker. In a fitting end to a frustrating back nine, what would have been a fine sand save missed by a few inches from around six feet.

She finished with 14 greens in regulation and 32 putts. She made two par saves from fairway bunkers in a three-hole stretch on the back.

“She putted well on the front,” said her father and caddie, Tom Hammond. “We just couldn’t get anything to fall on the back. I don’t think she putted poorly, she just couldn’t make anything.”

Hammond now returns to New Albany after being the youngest player in the field at both LPGA events in which she played this year.

She made her first cut after winning a Monday qualifier at Stone Oak, then proceeded to finish tied for 26th as the only amateur in the field in July at the Dana Open near Toledo.