The chain-smoking crane driver made countless disastrous attempts to qualify for golfs most famous tournament despite never having played a round of golf before. Buy it, folks. This service may include material from Agence France-Presse (AFP), APTN, Reuters, AAP, CNN and the BBC World Service which is copyright and cannot be reproduced. Your email address will not be published. Rylance and Hawkins are magnificent. It probably affected some of our job prospects when we left school. Former tailor and jeweller James says: Because of what hed done, he virtually made himself unemployable. In addition the R&A gave him a lifetime ban from all their competitions. Flitcroft died in 2007, and, well, I think its terrific that a film has been made of his ongoing escapades in the royal and ancient and sometimes fuddy-duddy game of golf. My brother Philip lived in Switzerland, so he would send an entry form for Dad from there and he also had an American pal who would do the same. But Maurice was regularly chased off courses in his deerstalker hat, and threatened with arrest. Rylance connects to the contradictions in Maurice's childlike mind; to his dreamy optimism and his neglect of responsibility elements that the film hints at but can't quite reconcile, because it's too enamoured with its warm-blanket world view. Shipyard crane operator Maurice Flitcroft (Mark Rylance) is contemplating a career change. Our dad bought us clubs. Wiki4All. And so is the film. His wife Jean noticed this and so informed him. Jean was proud of Maurice's character. Having said that he was going to slosh his drive, my opponent dispatched his ball into ferns, never to be seen again. An avid film buff, he feels lucky to have interviewed and written extensively about Hollywood's greatest talents. In 2017 comedian and writer Simon Farnaby, who co-wrote a biography of Flitcroft, stated that he was writing a film script based on the book. [6] The Phantom of the Open, directed by Craig Roberts, starring Mark Rylance and Sally Hawkins, opened at the London Film Festival in October 2021 before a wider release in March 2022. Farnaby grew up around golf and first remembers hearing about Flitcroft when he was around 11 years old. We first meet Maurice Flitcroft (Rylance) sitting for a television interview. I never actually played a full 18-hole round. Theres an earnestness to Rylances performance, which encourages us to find inspiration in the underdog. He says: Dad took it seriously deadly serious. He used them as an inspiration and tried to do his best. Indeed, his is not a story that ended with that ignominious Open defeat. He even meets a charismatic young Spanish pro by name of Seve Ballesteros. He gave Maurice that dignity and failure that he needed. Flitcroft, who had never attempted a round of golf in his life, received widespread attention after shooting a score of 121 in the qualifying competition for the 1976 Open Championship the worst score recorded at the Open Championship by a self-professed "professional golfer". He also used hats and pseudonyms. The next problem had to do with the venue. James says: They realised he wasnt sick when they saw him in the paper. Farnaby says he and director Craig Roberts got the perfect actor for the role. Required fields are marked *. VAT no 918 5617 01 Our hero gave the Open a miss in 1977 but, by using a pseudonym, he tried again in 1978 and 79. Though he had still to play on a course, he wrote to Peter Alliss to request an entry form and, with no reply forthcoming, he tried the R&A who dispatched one by the next post. No handicap required on the entry form. Heres a question thats been on my mind since hearing Maurice Flitcrofts life story is about to be celebrated in a feature length film: who missed out on a potential spot in the 1976 Open Championship because the imposter conned his way into Open Qualifying? Your email address will not be published. He didnt play the second round. In those days, the juniors and the women were sort of second class citizens. He decides to become a professional golfer. If you love great journalism like this, you will love GGP+. Both Gene, who died in 2010, and James joined him on his capers up and down the land, sometimes acting as his caddy. After he shot 121 the R&A was aghast that someone could beat the system.. A crane operator in the local shipyard in Barrow-on-Furness, where he lived, he decided to take up golf as an avocation after coming across the 1975 Open on television. He's embarrassed by his father's antics. The legendary hacker infamously submitted an entry form for Open Qualifying for the field at Royal Birkdale, claiming he was a professional golfer even though hed never been on a golf course in his life. Mark Rylance (centre), plays Maurice Flitcroft in The Phantom of The Open, which was written by Simon Farnaby (left), and directed by Craig Roberts (right). Sony Pictures Classics new movie The Phantom of the Open hit theaters in June and tells the true story of Maurice Flitcroft, a laid-off crane driver who at the age of 46 chanced his way into the British Open in 1976 having never played a round of golf in his life. The revue used to tour all the country and I would dive into this tank. Will the movie identify those players who had to suffer Flitcrofts antics for those excruciating 18 holes at Formby? So he took up golf; well, sort of. Farnaby and Scott Murray's 2010 book The Phantom of the Open: Maurice Flitcroft the World's Worst Golfer is from Yellow Jersey Press. The Phantom of the Open aims to emulate this triumph. But I hit a lot of good shots.. He wasnt big-headed. Maurice and Jean have twin teenage disco-dancing sons, Gene (Christian Lees) and James (Jonah Lees), along with Michael (Jake Davies) who studied hard, went to college, and became a manager in the shipyard's office. His entry was accepted. Michael informs his father that the crane crew will be trimmed. Jupiter, Fla. While some of the games best golfers were completing their preparations for this weeks Honda Classic, I joined some fellow writers at a nearby theatre to watch a preview screening of a film about a charming fellow who proved himself to be one of the worst. Farnaby admits he would have liked to be the leading man in his early acting days but he realized people thought he was funny and so he chose to enter the comedy side of the entertainment world. 20. Maurices twin sons had no idea their dad was taking part in the British Open qualifying during the summer of 1976 and neither did his employers. The powers that be. But none of that was going to deter determined Maurice, who had the support of his family and many in the community. It may have been out of bounds but, in the eyes of his mostly loyal son, the shot was not without its redeeming features. Undeterred, Flitcroft filed a bogus entry form for the 1978 championship under the name of Gene Pacecki, reportedly an American professional. I know what Im doing, said Flitcroft. Mark Rylance stars as Maurice Flitcroft, 'The World's Worst Golfer', in The Phantom of The Open. Ive probably played less than 10 times on the golf course, so I had to book some lessons with a pro to become the worst golfer in the world. Buddy Whitten, Blythefield's head pro stated that, "It started as a lark, but most people can't break 90 so they relate more to Maurice than they would to a touring pro." Maurice had a very cheap set. In 2017, Farnaby co-wrote Paddington 2 with Paul King. S hipyard crane operator Maurice Flitcroft (Mark Rylance) is contemplating a career change. Things were going a bit sideways for him, and he needed an adventure. Fast forward again to Flitcrofts appearance at Blythefield in 1988, where he and Jean and their sons were the guests of honour. So Maurice was assigned to a qualifying course. He, too, was stopped in his tracks after a few holes. Then 46 years old, Flitcroft shot 121, 49 over par. He was a comedy high diver, he was a stunt diver and he couldn't do that either. It's what the current parlance might call shudder 'nicecore'. Flitcroft sent in his entry form for the 1977 championship; the R&A rejected it. (Oh, I hope not!) Flitcroft, Moore said, was a big hit with the audience. And, I expect, Rylance as Flitcroft will be a big hit with anybody who sees the film and I hope it itself is a big hit. Well, it was the first film I made during the pandemic in 2020. You were allowed to tee off for about five minutes every other Tuesday (laughing). He played a few holes at South Herts before the R&A twigged to his real identity and tossed him off the course. The twins inherited their dads sense of dedication James and Gene loved dancing and went on to become world disco champions. A Swiss player supposedly by the name Gerald Hoppy managed nine holes at Pleasington in 1983. He entered one tournament as General Hoppy of France, wearing a drooping moustache. Maurice Flitcroft follows Seve Ballesteros at The Open. Maurice Flitcroft (Mark Rylance) crashes British golf tournaments in The Phantom of the Open. In the 1976 British Open, Maurice Flitcroft, a crane operator turned aspiring golfer, shot the worst qualifying round in the tournament's history. Well, to punish him for signing up as a professional and making it impossible to play on any course was really unnecessary and nasty. Before it hits screens on March 18, we sat down with Rylance to find out what attracted the Academy Award winner to the role and how he went about getting into character. Far fetched? That was more than enough embarrassment for the R&A, which circulated Flitcrofts photo to all qualifying sites. First, Flitcroft was no different to any of the other well-known names of the day in asking for appearance money and expenses. Maurice had turned up to watch and got close enough to Seve to be photographed with him. Montages of Maurice butting heads with the stuffy establishment (led by Rhys Ifans's suitably villainous-sounding secretary of the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews) ensue, where Roberts gets some comic mileage from the familiar targets lampooning the entitlement of the game and finding amusement in its many ridiculous, archaic rules. We used to do live stuff on stage together many moons ago. Though this, I promise, is not a blow-by-blow account of our 18 holes, the fourth hole has to be worth a mention. What about the player who missed out because Flitcroft took his spot? Even though tournament bosses The Royal And Ancient, based in Scotland at the home of golf St Andrews, banned him from ever competing again, Maurice kept trying to enter the Open and other pro tournaments around the world under a series of comedy pseudonyms. One night, he's inexplicably transfixed by a round of golf on television and, against all odds, it becomes his obsession a scene staged as fantastical hallucination, with our wide-eyed protagonist tumbling into a starry night sky and around a golf-ball-shaped moon, like Baron Munchausen soaring over the back nine. Maurice Flitcroft (Mark Rylance) crashes British golf tournaments in The Phantom of the Open. The great day arrived, and the enormity of the occasion began to hit him when a car-park attendant ushered him into a space in the competitors carpark. There was a notice warning of vehicles on the adjacent country road and, by the time Gene had finished drawing our attention to it, there was no question as to where Flitcroft Sr. would hit. He had been true to his word. Not only did Maurice G Flitcroft (unattached)s card have a three-figure score scrawled across the bottom of it, next to the 7th hole was the figure 12 and a massive question mark. I had to query it, says Johnson. Both of them stood there and said, Well, thats when we lost count. So they were obviously sick to death about what had happened. This erstwhile crane driver talked of early practice sessions in a field or on the beach and revealed how he was the beneficiary of a series of instructional articles penned by Al Geiberger. I think that a lot of the humour arises because so many people take golf very seriously. Like that film, he has a light comedic touch and feel for the milieu he's sketching, giving us a mid-70s that feels authentically uncool: three TV channels; ABBA and Leo Sayer on the soundtrack; white people in overalls dancing to disco at dinky community halls a world where nothing, and thus everything, seems possible. Top 59 Best Public Golf Courses in Canada, Need to know: Another designated event, limited LPGA field and a veteran called into action, The CP Womens Open is returning to Calgary in 2024, to be held at Earl Grey Golf Club, February was a fantastic month for the PGA Tour, with drama and storylines aplenty, A simple idea has morphed into sudden success for Red Rooster Golf founders and friends, Eric Cole is neither a superstar nor a celebrity, but his story is worth knowing. Jean refuses to let anyone, including their children, belittle Maurice or his dream of being a golfer. We have kept that throughout life. I became aware of Flitcroft when he played that first time in the Open qualifier in 1976. Maurice worked as a crane operator with shipbuilders Vickers-Armstrongs in Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, and his wife Jean who died in 2002 was part of the secretarial staff there. Weve long been fans of Maurice Flitcrofts extraordinary story here at Todays Golfer. I spoke to Flitcroft via telephone when I worked for Golf Monthly in the mid 1990s. It wasn't all glass, just the front so the spectators could see what was going on under the water. There was a stigma attached to what happened at the golf. How did he get in, given that hed never played a round of golf and the extent of his experience with the game had been whacking balls on the beach? Maurice Flitcroft was the fearless rookie who tricked the R&A in 1976 and became a cult hero for decades to come. This is the remarkable story of 'The Phantom of The Open' Maurice Flitcroft had some range. Hes not as bad as people think, he announced every bit as well as you would expect of someone who was a part-time DJ. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. An open championship should be open to everyone, says Flitcroft, who has his eyes on the competitions 10,000 prize. Space to play or pause, M to mute, left and right arrows to seek, up and down arrows for volume. Moore, who still writes regularly for Michigan Golfer, where he was the founding editor, remembers the Flitcrofts with great fondness. (Laughs) I dont think I would do better than Maurice. Its the more-or-less true story of Maurice Flitcroft, a crane operator for Vickers-Armstrongs shipyard in Barrow-in-Furness who took up golf in his mid-forties after seeing it So when I first heard of Maurice (pronounced Morris), he was like one of us. And what a great film it would make. I heard he was writing a book and managed to track him down. He wouldnt be shamed for that and thats an important lesson, especially for young people. (Farnaby's ultimate paean to politeness, Paddington 2, for all its insufferable online fandom, at least had the good sense to include dramatic conflict.). In the circumstances, this fathers opening shot was a lot better than anticipated high and right but on the fairway. Number: 1394141; H Bauer Publishing, Company Number: LP003328 He told me yes, that he still hit balls on the beach at Barrow-in-Furness, hoping one day to become good enough to play in the championship. To inquire about a licence to reproduce material, visit our Syndication site. No disservice to the Tim Burton film, but I adore the Gene Wilder film, the 1973 version (Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory) even all the sets were made of plastic". He was a dreamer to the core. The form presented problems because it was asking if he was an amateur or a professional. Glory days. The Phantom of the Open rests on the mighty shoulders of Rylance. I toured with a revue, and I used to jump into a tank on the stage, I was a stuntcomedy high diver. What a subject. That he had lost every hole in our game never got a mention, either from me or from him. Undeterred by failure (and a lifetime ban), he re-enters under a fresh alias, donning a French accent and a moustache. Farnaby wrote the script for the movie of the same name. It was the same again in 83 and 84, The 83 edition was the biggest disappointment of all in that he made it to the turn an achievement in itself, even if the score was no better than 63 before being dismissed. The Phantom Of The Open opens in cinemas on March 18, 2022 and tells the true story of Maurice Flitcroft, a crane worker from Barrow-in-Furness, who despite never having played a round of golf in his life, decided to enter the British Golf Open in 1976 as a professional. We didn't know much about him but all the senior members hated him and they hated us too or so it like like so he was one of us. Oscar-winning actor Mark Rylance (pictured) plays Flitcroft, while actor and filmmaker Craig Roberts is the films director. Then, when someone drew his attention to how the 1976 Open was to be played not too far from Barrow-in-Furness at Birkdale to be precise there was no stopping him. She was a co-conspirator.. We are sorry that this post was not useful for you! Michael joined Todays Golfer in 2016 and has exclusively interviewed dozens of Major champions, including Jordan Spieth, Tom Watson, Gary Player and Jack Nicklaus. He's a great sort of clown. The Phantom of the Open is in cinemas now. "My dad was a greenskeeper at Ganton Golf Club (Scarborough, UK) northeast of England, which is quite a prestigious golf club but I don't know what it's like in the (United) States but greenskeepers are sort of seen as the lower echelons. Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window). He perseveres in practice until a clerical error results in an astounding development. 'The Phantom of the Open' Brings Maurice Flitcroft's Amusing, Inspiring Story to Big Screen New movie, based off a book by the same name, chronicles a British Mark Rylance plays Maurice Flitcroft in The Phantom of The Open. But James did not always like caddying because it often meant facing furious officials when Maurice had been rumbled. The second act documents their financial hardships. For a someone who couldnt hit his hat, Maurice Flitcroft has certainly left a lasting legacy, #JustSaying: The Championship Committee reserves the right to disqualify any competitors making a false statement on his entry form. R&A policy post Flitcroft. Following the 1976 Open, the rules were changed to prevent Flitcroft from attempting to enter again. After posing as a professional player to enter an elite qualifying competition for the British Open of 1976, Maurice lined up his first drive and took a clumsy swing at Instead, he was a shipyard worker who had never been round a golf course in his life practising instead in muddy fields and on a local beach. They were vintage, though, and probably worth something now. As for the player who missed out at Formby in 1976 because Flitcroft stole his place, he probably has Walter Mitty-like dreams about beating Miller and Ballesteros over the closing holes in the greatest championship ever played. As long as you try to do your best, it doesnt matter what other people say. He had his own definition of who he was, regardless of the contrary evidence. What attracted you to playing Maurice Flitcroft in The Phantom of The Open? Subscribe. However, there was a serious side to Flitcrofts con trick: serious players missed out on playing in Open Qualifying as a result. He got the brilliant idea to invite Mr. and Mrs. Flitcroft to the tournament the next year. By the time he was halfway round the course, red-faced officials were urgently trying to persuade Maurice to retire gracefully. For other inquiries, Contact Us. He certainly admitted he could have done better, but he was always very adamant he wasnt the worlds worst golfer. That was and remains the highest score ever. Wonder if Flitcrofts life will be glammed up? I cant afford that! Flitcroft was outed. Maurice is mesmerized watching an unfamiliar sport. 8 min read Watch: Trailer for The Phantom of the Open Golf course chancer Maurice Flitcroft became notorious in the 1970s after he The Phantom of the Open is a production of Ingenious, Water & Power, Baby Cow Films, BBC Film, Cornerstone Films, and BFI. Maurice Flitcroft, who holds the record for the highest score ever recorded in the Open Championship - 121 in 1976 - goes to the States, where a tournament's been Its a heartwarming confection about Flitcrofts experiences flummoxing the poobahs at the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews, called the Royal and Ancient Golf Society in the film. Flitcroft said when he spoke at the dinner, When my sister-in-law heard we were trave;ling to Grand Rapids, she said, Its the first time I remember Maurice and Jean being out of the house together since their gas oven exploded.. Doug and his staff have received more than 200 awards from organizations like PRNDI, AP, New York Association of Black Journalists, Garden State Association of Black Journalists and the New Jersey Society of Professional Journalists. I hope he enjoyed it as much as we did. The next minute hes got himself a set of clubs and is practising every day.. Learn how and when to remove this template message, 1974 Piccadilly World Match Play Championship, Professional Golfers' Association of America, "The 'Phantom of the Open' who tricked his way into golf's elite", "Flitcroft runs out of steam and names in his long-running tilt at windmill", "Maurice Flitcroft: Audacious amateur golfer who conned his way into the Open", "The world's worst golfer, coming to cinemas", "The Joy of Six: Open nightmares, From Walter Danecki to Ian Woosnams 15 clubs, via the travails of Ian Baker-Finch, here are half a dozen Open lows, by Scott Murray, 15 Jul 2011, The Guardian, "Maurice Flitcroft: The world's worst golfer", "Sony Pictures Classics Acquires Mark Rylance & Sally Hawkins Movie 'The Phantom of the Open', "Front Row: The Arts in Aberystwyth, The Boy with Two Hearts in Cardiff and Welsh film director Craig Roberts", Obituary, "The Great Pretender: Recalling Open Championship gatecrasher Maurice Flitcroft," by Dave Kindred, GolfDigest, June 25, 2007, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Maurice_Flitcroft&oldid=1139154906, Short description is different from Wikidata, Wikipedia articles needing copy edit from January 2023, Articles needing additional references from January 2023, All articles needing additional references, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 13 February 2023, at 17:28. 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