The story of a Barrow man with a golfing dream will be hitting the big screen this month.
Maurice Flitcroft became notorious after he hit a score of 121 in the qualifying round of the Open Championship – the highest score recorded – in 1976, despite never playing a game of golf before.
Now the story of the shipyard crane operator has been turned into a film, The Phantom of the Open.
Starring Oscar winner Mark Rylance and Sally Hawkins, the film will premiere at the London Film Festival on October 12.
He had told organisers of the championship that he was a pro golfer and following his feat in 1976, the golfing estabishment changed the rules to stop him attempting to enter the competition again, but it did not stop Maurice trying several times.
He was also banned from golf courses.
He became a British folk hero as a result, gaining a lot of worldwide media attention.
According to his unpublished memoirs, Flitcroft took up the game after watching the 1974 Piccadilly World Match Play Championship.
Flitcroft prepared for the tournament by studying a golf instruction manual by Peter Alliss which was borrowed from his local library.
The film is directed by Craig Roberts, from a screenplay by Simon Farnaby, adapted from his own book The Phantom of the Open: Maurice Flitcroft, The World’s Worst Golfer, co-written by Scott Murray.
