Feature
Teen Sensation
MEGHA GANNE
Receives Sponsor Exemption for the 2020 ShopRite LPGA
Classic Presented by Acer
in the world in her home state of New
Jersey.”
The exemption is the latest chapter in
the ShopRite LPGA Classic’s history
of providing playing opportunities for
promising young players. The tournament
helped launch the careers of some of the
biggest names in golf like Lexi Thompson,
Paula Creamer, Brooke Henderson and
Michelle Wie - as well as rising stars like
Maria Fassi, Jennifer Kupcho and Leona
Maguire. Thompson was 15 years old
when she made her professional debut at
the 2010 ShopRite LPGA Classic. She won
the 2019 event with an eagle on the fi nal
hole to capture her 11th career victory.
Highly-accomplished New Jersey junior golfer will compete
in her second professional tournament as an amateur.
T
he ShopRite LPGA Classic Presented
by Acer has awarded a sponsor
exemption to New Jersey junior
golf standout Megha Ganne, who will
compete as an amateur in the annual LPGA
tournament held May 25-31, 2020 on the
Bay Course at Seaview, A Dolce Hotel. Ganne fi nished second in the 2019 Drive,
Chip and Putt National Finals at Augusta
National, becoming the fi rst player to earn
a spot in the fi nals for the fourth time in
the event’s six-year history. She will also
compete in this year’s prestigious Augusta
National Women’s Amateur.
Ganne, a 16 year old attending high school
in Holmdel, New Jersey, is the reigning
New Jersey State Golf Association Junior
Girls champion. She also qualifi ed and
competed in the 2019 U.S. Women’s Open
and advanced to the semifi nals of the 2019
U.S. Women’s Amateur Championship. “Our event has a long history of serving
as a launching point for the future stars of
the game,” said Leela Narang, Executive
Director of the ShopRite LPGA Classic
Presented by Acer. “We’re excited to
provide an opportunity for Megha to
showcase her skills against the best players
“Competing in my fi rst LPGA tournament
will be a feeling like no
other,” said Ganne.
“I’m so excited to
have received this
exemption knowing
that I’ve attended
this event as a
spectator so many
times growing
up. I’m thrilled for
the challenge and
eager to rise to the
occasion.”
Ganne has been a member of
The First Tee of Metropolitan New York
and LPGA-USGA Girls Golf since the
age of seven. She is believed to be the fi rst
member of a First Tee chapter to play in an
LPGA event.
“We are thrilled for Megha that she has
been offered this incredible opportunity,”
said Katie Rudolph, COO of The First
Tee of Metropolitan New York. “To be
able to play in her home state will be
especially exciting as we will be able to
bring hundreds of her First Tee friends and
family to cheer her on. It will be surreal for
our participants to watch their friend play
inside of ropes alongside the stars of the
LPGA.”
GolfPlus Junior February-March 2020
33