Former Boston Red Sox Manager Returning to New England Because of .... Golf?

Last week, it was announced that Theo Epstein is returning to the Boston Red Sox family as part of the team's ownership group.

This week, it's been announced that former Sox manager Terry Francona is coming back to New England this summer, although not in a baseball capacity.

Per a news release on Monday:

Terry Francona, who managed Major League Baseball’s Boston Red Sox to two World Series titles and guided the Cleveland Indians to an American League pennant, has been named honorary chair of the 44th U.S. Senior Open Championship. The United States Golf Association (USGA) will conduct the U.S. Senior Open at Newport (R.I.) Country Club from June 26-30.

“As an avid golfer myself, I am honored to be selected as the honorary chair of this year’s U.S. Senior Open,” said Francona. “When I retired from baseball, one of the things that excited me the most was the opportunity to get on the golf course as often as possible. I’ve been a fan of the sport my whole life and have been lucky enough to form relationships with some of the players on the [PGA] Champions Tour. It will be nice to see some familiar faces while participating in this prestigious event...

In his role, Francona will support the fifth USGA championship to be held at Newport Country Club and the first since 2006. The club is one of the five founding members of the USGA, which was formed on Dec. 22, 1894, and was the site of the inaugural U.S. Amateur and U.S. Open championships in 1895.

Francona managed three different organizations (Phillies, Red Sox, Guardians), taking both Boston and Cleveland to the playoffs. He took Cleveland to the World Series in 2016 but won two titles with the Red Sox (2004 and 2007).

He finished his career with 1,950 wins, which is 13th all-time. He had the third-most wins among active managers last year (behind Dusty Baker and Bruce Bochy). Baker and Francona both announced their retirements at the end of the season.