Fran Quinn Sr., patriarch of golf family, dies at 74

Fran Quinn Sr., the patriarch of the leading golf family in Central Massachusetts, died at age 74 this morning at his Northboro home surrounded by his wife Carol and his seven children after battling pancreatic cancer for a year and a half.

Quinn won the New England Amateur and the Hornblower in the 1960s and teamed with Jim Sullivan, Bill Cosgrove and his son Fran Jr. to capture four Wachusett Four-Ball titles. Quinn also finished second in two Massachusetts Amateur championships.

Fran Jr. and his brothers Brian and Kevin each won the Mass. Open. Another brother, Chris, has been club champion at Worcester Country Club and the youngest brother, Patrick, carries a single-digit handicap.

?It all goes back to him instilling the belief in us that no matter what your dreams are,? Fran Jr. said, ?you keep dreaming and if you work hard enough you can attain them.?

Quinn's daughters don't golf, but Mary Ann was a star gymnast at Algonquin Regional and Erin played field hockey for Notre Dame Academy.

Fran Jr. also won the Mass. Amateur before turning professional and winning twice on the Asian Tour and four times on the Nationwide Tour. He currently plays on the PGA Tour. Brian won more than 20 tournaments, including the Maine Open, as a professional golfer and has been the golf coach at Temple University for five years. Kevin followed in his father's footsteps by remaining an amateur and he captured the New England Amateur 36 years after his father did. After Fran Sr. won the New England Amateur, he received the key to the city of Worcester. He had captained the golf teams at North High and Holy Cross.

Quinn was a long hitter, an excellent ball striker and a clutch putter. He stood 6 feet, 3 inches and posed an intimidating figure on the course. His sons believe he could have succeeded in golf on a national level if he wanted, but he put his family first.

After many of his shifts as a pharmaceutical salesman, Quinn hit balls at Indian Meadow CC in Westboro and his sons caught his shots with their baseball gloves. Then the sons hit balls.

Quinn was a longtime member at Pleasant Valley CC, but he hadn't played any golf in a couple of years before he decided to play in the qualifier at Mount Pleasant CC for the 1981 Mass. Amateur. Brian caddied for him and watched him sink a 10-footer on the last hole to qualify on the number. Quinn then built up his strength by swinging a club in the fescue at Indian Meadows CC in Westboro. With Brian and Fran taking turns as caddie, their father upset Jimmy Hallet in the semifinals before falling to Steve Tasho in the final at Taconic CC. Hallet won the Mass. Amateur in each of the next two years.

Quinn gave up competitive golf after the 1981 Mass. Amateur to watch his sons play.

?The best gift he game to me was his time,? Brian said.

Quinn was always the first one to call Fran Jr. after each round on the Nationwide Tour and PGA Tour.

?Watching him be a great dad and also play at a high level was something all of us took away,? Fran Jr. said. ?It taught us how to practice. It wasn't quantity, it was quality. I remember matches when was down. There was never any give-up.?

Fran Jr. watched his father fight just as hard after he was diagnosed with cancer.

?For him to withstand it,? Fran Jr. said, ?for a year and a half, it was the way he used to battle down the stretch playing in a golf tournament. Win or lose, he knew he left it all on the table.?

When Quinn took a job in Michigan and moved his family three for three years, he won the prestigious Lansing Amateur by 11 strokes. Quinn's 6-under 64 stood as the Worcester CC course record for decades until Fran Jr. shot a 62 a few years ago.

Fran Jr. still has five events left on his major medical extension after a stress fracture in his back forced him to leave the PGA Tour in 2010. He'll be thinking of his father when he returns to the PGA Tour next month at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am.

?It will be emotional,? Fran Jr. said. ?I know he'll be looking down on me with a big smile. He'll tell me to try as hard as I can and not to leave anything on the table and that he loves me.?

The wake is planned for 4-7 p.m. Thursday at Athy Memorial Funeral Home in Worcester and the funeral will be Friday morning at St. Rose of Lima Parish in Northboro.

Source: http://www.telegram.com/article/20120102/NEWS/120109970/1009/RSS01&source=rss

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