At age 49, Fran Quinn earned a spot at the 2014 U.S. Open at Pinehurst No. 2 by advancing through both Local and Final Qualifying.

Quinn’s son Owen, 15 at the time, caddied through all stages of qualifying, and at Pinehurst, where Fran made birdie on the final hole Thursday to share second place through the opening round.

“My dad was in the second-to-last tee time off 10,” recalled Owen, “he hit a beautiful shot up to about 2 feet, knocked it in, gave me a big hug. He was so happy; it was the happiest I had seen him.

“Just a 49-year-old journeyman from Massachusetts playing the U.S. Open, and there he is shooting 68. There were so many people texting us that night, and everything was so cool.”

This week, the Quinns added another chapter to their memory bank around the U.S. Open experience.

Fran and Owen competed in the same U.S. Open Local Qualifying site (Taconic GC in Massachusetts), each carding 1-over 72 on a rainy, windy Tuesday and earning two of the five available Final Qualifying berths via the site.

Fran, now 57, has been a frequent presence on PGA TOUR Champions since turning 50. Owen, now 23, is a year removed from completing his master’s degree in engineering and technical entrepreneurship from Lehigh University, where he completed a double major in finance and accounting the year prior. He was captain on the Lehigh men’s golf team, turned pro after graduation and is pursuing his dreams of following the professional golf footsteps of his dad, a four-time Korn Ferry Tour winner.

Part of golf’s enduring appeal is how generations can cross paths on the same playing field. The Quinns experienced this firsthand Tuesday, as they advance to Final Qualifying in pursuit of competing in the same U.S. Open.

And it’s not just any U.S. Open. The Country Club in Brookline, Massachusetts, is situated just 45 minutes from the Quinn family residence in Holden, Massachusetts.

“Obviously you want to play any U.S. Open regardless of where it is; that’s a given,” remarked Owen. “But if there’s ever one that you’d mark on a calendar and really want to get in, for us, it was definitely this one.

“I’ve played the Massachusetts State Amateur there back in the day, a couple other tournaments … the history that’s there, and the U.S. Open coming to Boston, it’s pretty cool. Since (the location) was released eight years ago or so, I had always dreamt about and hoped I would have a chance. … The experience at Pinehurst is probably the coolest experience I’ve had in golf, just a 15-year-old kid who loved golf and loved watching my dad. Being able to walk inside the ropes with him was fabulous, but to be able to both have the chance to qualify for one that’s here in our backyard is pretty cool.”

Fran made the cut at the 2014 U.S. Open, able to share a memorable Father’s Day walk up the 72nd hole with Owen by his side. The next year, Owen caddied once again at Final Qualifying – both times at the Century/Old Oaks site in Purchase, New York – with Fran missing by one stroke.

Owen, who has made strides in his game recently under the coaching of PGA TOUR winner Grant Waite, has attempted U.S. Open qualifying an estimated five or six times. This marks the first time he has advanced to Final Qualifying.

Fran hadn’t attempted U.S. Open qualifying since 2015, as he has devoted his full energies to PGA TOUR Champions, including success at the U.S. Senior Open, in which he has recorded back-to-back top-20 finishes.

This spring, the night before registration opened for U.S. Open qualifying, Owen informed Fran of his plans to register for the Taconic GC site – along with his cousin Matthew, a 16-year-old high school golfer in Massachusetts.

“I called him on the ride home,” Fran remembered. “I said, ‘Hey, when you enter yourself, enter me. I’m going.’ He goes, ‘Alright, let’s go.’”

“We knew that over the last two years, with how big golf’s gotten … we knew that with the U.S. Open at The Country Club, all the sites in Massachusetts and Rhode Island would fill up so fast,” Owen added. “I told my dad, ‘It opens tomorrow morning; I’m gonna register for Taconic.’ He’s like, ‘You know what? Throw me in there too. I might as well play.’”

At Tuesday’s qualifier, Fran and Owen teed off at the same time, but off opposite nines. The site offered nine-hole scoring but not hole-by-hole; after making the turn at 3-over, Fran checked to see where he stood. Owen’s group was playing slightly ahead at the time.

“Owen was at 3-under; my nephew (Matthew) was at 1-over, tied for third, and I was 3-over at the time,” Fran remembered. “I said, ‘Wow, I’m getting waxed by the youngster, my kid, everybody!’ And so I said, ‘I’ve got to get going.’”

Fran did just that, making a 15-foot birdie at his final hole to post 1-over 72. Owen stumbled a bit coming in but had carded the same 1-over score, finishing shortly before his dad.

“I finished before my dad, and I knew he had made the turn in 3-over, so I was trying to swing around … saw him come up the hill,” Owen said. “He said he had finished at 1-over, just made a 15-foot birdie, so I was like, ‘Nice.’ We had to wait it out a bit, and probably 30 minutes after we finished, it was clear that we were both going to get through and get to Final Qualifying.”

Fran’s second Korn Ferry Tour title came at the Florida Classic in February 2000. Owen was 1 year old at the time. After Fran putted out for a three-stroke win over Mark Hensby, Owen ran on the green to provide congratulations.

Owen wasn’t on-site for Fran’s most recent Korn Ferry Tour wins (2009 Albertsons Boise Open; 2010 Panama Championship), but he remembers being at a neighbor’s house during the Boise win – “refreshing the computer like a madman” – and following the Panama win at home. He’ll hope to be on-site for a potential PGA TOUR Champions win, as well.

In the meantime, the Quinns will prepare rigorously for U.S. Open Final Qualifying, drawing inspiration from each other as they aim to live out the ultimate dream at The Country Club next month.

“The way he carries himself on the golf course … he doesn’t get too down on himself ever,” Owen said of his dad. “He just plugs along. If something bad happens, he just shakes it off and keeps on going. When I was younger, I would be quick to get mad, and quick to get upset. Obviously it’s easy to get upset; golf’s a frustrating game. But something I’ve learned from him is really to take it one shot at a time, but at the same time, if you don’t hit the best shot, if something doesn’t go your way … just shake it off. Once it’s done, just worry about the next one.”

“He’s got a great work ethic, and he really understands what it takes to be successful,” added Fran of his son. “He’s doing everything in his power to try and do it.

“To get through with Owen is really neat. He has caddied for me so many different times, he’s always been there for me and my No. 1 fan, and to be able to go out there and get through together, and hopefully we can slide through to the next one. It would be a heck of a story.”

It would be, indeed.