Finding a way out of the rough

Meaghan Francella, a winner on the LPGA Tour, drew many puzzled looks when she arrived at a tournament last January carrying the bag of another golfer.

She was not just a friend helping a fellow touring pro whose caddie was not available. Francella was looking for a chance to stay in the game after losing her full LPGA status.

“It was a real adjustment for me in the beginning, because a lot of people asked me what I was doing,” said Francella, 32, whose seven-year LPGA career included a victory over Annika Sorenstam in a four-hole playoff at the 2007 MasterCard Classic. “I told them I haven’t been happy and I wanted to try something different.”

In addition to titles at the 2007 MasterCard Classic and at the unofficial HSBC LPGA Brasil Cup in 2010, Francella had two top-10 finishes at major championships and earned more than $1.1 million on tour. But after winning in 2010, she missed seven cuts in 16 tournaments in 2011. In 2012, she missed 11 cuts in 15 events and earned only $28,935, which meant she had to go to qualifying school to save her tour card.

“Looking back, I was really hard on myself,” Francella said. “If I finished 10th, it was like, why didn’t I finish fifth? Or when I’d shoot a 68, I was like, why didn’t I shoot a 66? I was never happy.”

On one hand, Francella was a joking, self-effacing pro from a working-class, Irish-Italian family in Port Chester, New York, who moved easily among the tour’s elite. She was often invited to fly on private planes with players like Morgan Pressel and top-ranked Stacy Lewis, or to join friendly matches at home in South Florida with Meg Mallon, Beth Daniel and Karrie Webb.

On the other hand, Francella was visibly miserable, struggling with an errant driver. In 2010, she ranked ninth on the tour in driving accuracy, but by 2013, she was 95th. Her confidence eroded as her shots sailed wide of targets.

“She was trying so hard, but she didn’t know where her drives were going, and things became a lot harder,” her mother, Denise Francella, said. “It’s very difficult to watch your child be that miserable.”

Before the 2012 qualifying tournament, Meaghan Francella spent a day with PGA Tour veteran Steve Stricker to mentally prepare for the 90-hole tournament. He had experienced his own professional slump, once losing his tour card.

Francella was safely among the top 20, in position to earn a card, heading into the final round, but she carded a 6-over-par 78 to secure only conditional status for 2013. “I laid down on the grass and cried,” Francella said. “I remember feeling completely worn down and broken.”

She made up her mind to fight back. During the offseason, she worked out, lost weight, focused her practice and tried to mentally prepare for another year. But Francella again struggled, and her best finish that season was a tie for 71st. She missed 11 cuts in 14 events in 2013 and earned a total of $7,838, meaning she had to return to Q-School. This time, Francella missed the 72-hole cut. But her reaction was different.

“There were no tears, and it was like, I’m done and I’m OK with being done,” Francella said. “I was almost relieved.”

Denise Francella said, “It almost helped her make a decision that she needed to do something different.”

Meaghan drove home to Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. Her house was already on the market, and when it sold the next week, she put her belongings in storage and found a smaller place to rent.

She got a more modest car; gave up her membership at Medalist Golf Club in Hobe Sound, Florida; and found part-time jobs working as a bartender and a club caddie. Francella still enjoyed being around the game, but not the pressure to play well to make a living.

“As a caddie, now when I miss the cut, I still get paid,” she said.
Francella asked Lewis to critique her as a caddie, and she asked several LPGA Tour caddies to help her find work on tour. She found jobs with Heather Bowie-Young, the rookie Jaye Marie Green and the veteran Pat Hurst. “With her as my caddie, I practiced a lot more than I had in a while,” said Hurst, 45, who has been on the tour since 1994. “She played out here, and she knows what it takes.”

Francella finished 2014 on the Symetra Tour working for Min Lee of Taiwan, who earned 2015 LPGA membership and hired Francella to work as her caddie for the 2015 season. With Francella on her bag for three events, Lee went to fifth from 13th on the Symetra Tour’s money list, posting three top-10 finishes and winning her first tournament as a pro. “I cried when Min won, and watching her earn her LPGA card was one of the coolest things in my career,” Francella said. “I was able to help somebody’s dream come true.”

Francella returned to LPGA Q-School in December, but as the caddie for the third-year pro Emily Talley, who tied for 58th. “She played and won on the LPGA, and if someone like her believes in you, then it’s easier to have confidence,” Talley said.
Francella still loves to play golf with her tour friends, but she said she did not know if she would try again to play professionally. “My friends on tour call me a golf nerd,” she said. “I played every day last winter, and they asked me why I was practicing if I was going to caddie. I told them I was just playing and having fun.” She added: “I still have my player badge, but I don’t go into the player locker rooms or park in player parking. I treat myself like a caddie.”

For now, Francella is focused more on helping Lee have a successful rookie season on the LPGA Tour. She also wants to find some personal peace again in the game.