A 10-foot putt stood between top-ranked golfer Lydia Ko making the cut or getting a rare weekend off.
She rolled it just to the right.
Also missing the cut at the LPGA event in Carlsbad, California, is Australia's Minjee Lee, whose second-round 70 wasn't enough to keep her tournament alive, after a 76 in the opening round.
After taking Saturday (Sunday AEDT) off, Ko will be driving out to Palm Springs on Sunday to start preparing for the season's first major.
Ko, the defending Kia champion, missed the cut for just the second time in 91 LPGA Tour starts when she bogeyed two of her final three holes Friday at the Kia Classic.
Cristie Kerr, the 2015 Kia champion, shot a three-under 69 for a two-round total of nine-under 135, good for a one-shot lead over Mo Martin and Mirim Lee.
"I kind of was in an OK position after halfway. Then I had a really bad finish," said Ko, a 19-year-old New Zealander.
"I can't do anything about it. I tried my best out there to hopefully put myself in better position going forward. But, hey, I wish I would've been able to be able to play on the weekend."
Kerr kept the lead despite bogeys on two of her final four holes.
To stay atop the leader board will take "making it routine, just playing my game every day and keeping it simple. Staying out of my own way."
Kerr had been tied at six-under 66 with Martin and In Gee Chun after the first round.
Martin shot a 70 on Friday while Lee had a 67.
Sarah Jane Smith is the best-placed Australian and is in a tie for 14th after scores of 71 and 69 through the first two days.
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