Meaghan Francella Returns to ShopRite LPGA Classic at 44 — Lpga
Meaghan Francella is back in lpga competition at 44, scheduled to tee off Friday at the 38th ShopRite LPGA Classic after years away from touring golf. The Philadelphia teaching professional enters a 144-player field chasing a $2 million purse at Seaview Hotel and Golf Club in Galloway Township.
Francella Returns To Seaview
Francella was set for a 7:20 a.m. Friday start on the Bay Course, a return that puts a former tour winner back inside an active LPGA field. She first played LPGA Tour events in 2006, won on tour in 2007, and stepped away from touring golf in 2014.
Her path back to this start is unusual in a field built around players in their prime. Francella turned pro in 2004 after playing collegiately at the University of North Carolina, then spent the last four years as a teaching professional at the Philadelphia Cricket Club.
Philadelphia Cricket Club Voice
That teaching role has become a second career, and Francella has used it to stay close to the game while working with golfers of different ages. She coaches players ranging from junior golfers to senior citizens, which makes this week’s appearance at Seaview more than a reunion with tournament golf.
Francella said, “You’re around the best players in the world, and you gotta learn something while you’re out here,” and added, “I just see what they’re doing and try to take it to the range to see if it will help any of my students.”
Her return also comes with a direct route into the event. She was invited because of her status as a tournament winner, which is how a player from a local teaching job can still earn a spot beside the top end of the LPGA schedule.
Winning Past, Fresh Start
Francella’s best tour result still reaches back to the 2007 Mastercard Classic, where she beat a field that included then-world No. 1 Annika Sorenstam. She said before teeing off, “I still know that I have a lot of good golf left in me,” and, “I put a lot of work in in the last couple weeks, and I feel really good, my body feels good, so I’m looking forward to playing.”
Jennifer Kupcho, 29, entered as last year’s ShopRite champion, giving the tournament a different kind of contrast: a reigning winner at one end of the age range and a 44-year-old former tour winner making her way back in at the other. The field at Seaview is built around that spread of experience, and Francella fits right into it.
For a reader following this event, the most immediate fact is simple: Francella is back in a real LPGA field with a defined tee time, a winning history, and a teaching job that keeps her tied to golf even after stepping away from touring in 2014. Friday’s first swing on the Bay Course is the part that turns that return from a story into a scorecard entry.
