They had discussed the possibility several times heading into Thursday's New York State Golf Association Men's Amateur qualifier at Ives Hill Country Club.
How neat would it be for veteran state amateur participant John Bufalini and his son, Michael, to both qualify and head off to the 86th state men's amateur together when it is contested July 15-19 at Pinehaven Country Club in Guilderland.
Whether it was divine intervention, or more likely the fact that both Bufalinis are top-flight players, their dream was realized when they qualified one-two in Thursday's 18-hole round at a rainy Ives Hill.
"I was probably more nervous for Mike than I was about my round,'' said proud father John, the city men's champion who fired a 1-under-par 71 to lead the 15-man field. "I saw a big smile on his face after 14, so I knew he was doing pretty well. But I really didn't want to know.''
Michael Bufalini, who just finished his junior year at Watertown High School, nearly matched his dad, posting an even-par 72. He missed a 3-footer for birdie on the 18th hole.
"I keep telling him I'm catching up,'' Michael said. "It would have been nice to shoot the same scores, but I'm satisfied to just make the tournament.''
Former city champion Shane Dyer was the third qualifier with a 1-over-par 73. The final qualifier was Nick Ambrose, an ex-Immaculate Heart Central player who now works in the Buffalo area, who shot a 74.
Nick's brother, James Ambrose, just missed qualifying with a round of 75. He is the first alternate. Matt Dalton, who chipped in on the first playoff hole to beat Tyler Woodward, is the second alternate after firing a 78.
John Bufalini, who also led qualifying last year then made it to match play in the state amateur at Yahnundasis Golf Club, said, "I left a few shots on the table today, especially with the putter. But anything around par was going to be a good score.''
Bufalini bogeyed the second hole, but came right back with a nice birdie on the par-3 third hole where he chipped in. He also bogeyed No. 5 and finished the front nine in 1-over-par 37.
He began the back nine with a bogey-4 on No. 10, then got hot. Birdies on 12 (25 feet), 14 (lip-out for eagle) and 15 (15 feet) put him 1 under par, and he finished with three consecutive par-4s.
Bufalini woke up with a sore back Thursday morning, and even contemplated not playing at one point. But after some stretching exercises, he was able to tee it up.
"Now I'm really glad I played,'' he said.
Michael Bufalini missed the cut in his first state amateur qualifier last year, so he was determined to make a better showing this time.
"I avoided the dumb mistakes,'' said Michael, who finished with 13 4s on his scorecard. "It's going to be fun sharing this experience with my dad.''
Dyer, who made the state amateur as a high school player but hasn't had much success in recent years, was also steady. He turned in nines of 37 and 36.
"Driving the first green and making eagle got me off to a good start,'' said Dyer, who plays college golf for Wingate University. "The rest of the front nine was pretty routine, then I lipped out three times on the back nine.''
Nick Ambrose shot 3-over-par 39 on the front side, then fired a 1-under-par 35 to make the cut by a shot over his brother.
"I haven't had a chance to play a lot,'' said Ambrose. "The short game is the thing that suffers, and it took awhile for me to get comfortable with that today.''