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. James says: They realised he wasnt sick when they saw him in the paper. James says: He was fined for playing on the grammar school field, about a 100 yards away from where we lived.. Your email address will not be published. Perhaps those who now work in the R&A entries department should raise a wee toast to Flitcroft once a year for giving them a job. It was a pity they missed the par-four second. Mark Rylance stars as Maurice Flitcroft, 'The World's Worst Golfer', in The Phantom of The Open. Ive made a lot of progress in the last few months and Im sorry I did not do any better. Actually, the R&A told Flitcroft in no uncertain terms he wasnt playing the second round. 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. Ive made a lot of progress in the last few months and Im sorry I did not do any better.. An avid film buff, he feels lucky to have interviewed and written extensively about Hollywood's greatest talents. Undeterred, Maurice practised hitting balls along his local beach, in the park, on school grounds and sometimes by sneaking on to courses at night. She stands by him through thick and thin. 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. It wasn't all glass, just the front so the spectators could see what was going on under the water. Then on the Saturday The Sun had a banner headline that Maurice Flitcroft shot 121 in the Open. Click here and subscribe for just $48 (20% off). He had told his bosses he was ill, so it came as a great surprise to them to see photos of him strolling along behind Seve Ballesteros at the Open after failing to qualify. Following a mad flash of a swing, his ball shot over the wall and bounded down the tarmac. 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. That's the unlikely charade behind The Phantom of the Open, the latest in the seemingly never-ending stream of feel-good, based-on-a-true-story films cranked out by the British in recent years, in which an eccentric working-class underdog invariably becomes a folk hero by capturing the attention of a nation. At the age of 46, hes determined not to let her down. (Wonder if the scorecard still exists?). He had a very strong sense of justice, probably more so than we depicted in the film. Half an hour later and the starter was calling On the tee, Maurice Flitcroft. And that was when his knees began to quake. But there's an enervating twee-ness to the screenplay by English writer-comedian Farnaby (adapting his and Scott Murray's book of the same name), a sense that the British feel-good formula has been fed into an algorithm that hasn't yet machine-learned the art of dramatic rhythm. Academy Award-nominee Sally Hawkins plays Maurice's supportive wife Jean. I have no chance of qualifying, Flitcroft said. At times, Roberts seems to have considered just that there are enough giddy whip pans and dolly ins to suggest the director seemed to think he was making a slippery, Scorsese-esque tale of irony and ambition. He says: Dad took it seriously deadly serious. 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. Did you film at Formby, where the 1976 Open Qualifier took place? Hes flung around the world like a golf ball, dizzy with the sense of possibility. Undeterred by failure (and a lifetime ban), he re-enters under a fresh alias, donning a French accent and a moustache. Theres an earnestness to Rylances performance, which encourages us to find inspiration in the underdog. Maurice Flitcroft, who died in 2007, came from the England port town of Barrow-in-Furness, decided he would try to take a shot at the British open after watching the sport on television. Number: 1394141; H Bauer Publishing, Company Number: LP003328 Maurice Flitcroft genuinely believed he could win the Claret Jug. With Flitcroft seemingly unaware how many shots and penalty shots he had amassed, I made the silent assumption that I was two up. We first meet Maurice Flitcroft (Rylance) sitting for a television interview. VAT no 918 5617 01 So began a round in which he was at sixes and sevens while his playing companions were silently critical. Glory days. Alas, none of it ever happened. - Just so you know, whilst we may receive a commission or other compensation from the links on this page, we never allow this to influence product selections. James says: We took up golf when we were ten or 11. The missed opportunity is a shame, especially as there are glimpses of the full-tilt comedy struggling to escape the tea-and-crumpets sensibility. "I think Steven Spielberg said Mark Rylance is the best actor in the world. The film captures the whimsical nature of Maurice Flitcroft. He entered as a professional, which he decidedly was not. Had he entered as an amateur, which he decidedly was, he would have had to declare his handicap. 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. Actor, comedian and author Simon Farnaby wrote the screenplay for The Phantom of the Open and co-wrote the book in 2010 along with sportswriter and author Scott Murray. M aurice Flitcroft, who first hit the headlines in 1976 when he had an opening 121 in Open Qualifying at Formby, died in 2007. Required fields are marked *. He didn't know anything about golf. He is the subject of a biography, The Phantom of the Open, by Scott Murray and Simon Farnaby, published by Yellow Jersey Press in July 2010.[1]. Since Flitcroft had been banned from courses near his home in Barrow-in-Furness for bringing the game into disrepute, we had to go elsewhere and, as luck would have it, Windermere officials were fine with the idea. To see all content on The Sun, please use the Site Map. Michael joined Todays Golfer in 2016 and has exclusively interviewed dozens of Major champions, including Jordan Spieth, Tom Watson, Gary Player and Jack Nicklaus. (Oh, I hope not!) They were an old-fashioned couple, James says: They supported each other in every endeavour. The Phantom of the Open aims to emulate this triumph. He said he would be invoicing my newspaper, the Daily Telegraph, for lost balls. Why should golf fans go and see the film? In its obituary of Flitcroft, The Daily Telegraph commented: Maurice Flitcroft was a chain-smoking shipyard crane-operator from Barrow-in-Furness whose persistent attempts to gatecrash the British Open golf championship produced a sense of humour failure among members of the golfing establishment. Roberts finds humour in golfs topsy-turvy rules: the higher the score, the worse the game. Now, 15 years after his passing at the age of 67, Flitcrofts story is hitting the big screen in a film adaption of Simon Farnaby and Scott Murrays superb book, The Phantom of 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. Watch a trailer for The Phantom of the Open. The revue used to tour all the country and I would dive into this tank. If we wanted cricket we had pads, balls, wickets. Maurice would end up operating a crane at the dreary Vickers-Armstrongs shipyard. Maurice Flitcroft, who died in 2007, came from the England port town of Barrow-in-Furness, decided he would try to take a shot at the British open after watching the sport on television. So when I first heard of Maurice (pronounced Morris), he was like one of us. He had been true to his word. And what a great film it would make. He entered as Gerald Hoppy and made it into a qualifying round in 1984, dressed up as a Our dad bought us clubs. Fitting then that Sir Mark Rylance had only played a The Phantom of the Open is a production of Ingenious, Water & Power, Baby Cow Films, BBC Film, Cornerstone Films, and BFI. A major you might say, I wrote, in my Globe column. "I loved the book, Roald Dahl's book Charlie and the Chocolate Factory when I was a kid. I hope he enjoyed it as much as we did. Mark Rylance plays a would-be golfer who gatecrashes the Open in this upbeat comedy-drama based on a true story. The sporting world might have treated him as a joke but he had wanted to become a great golfer. You were allowed to tee off for about five minutes every other Tuesday (laughing). By 1992, Maurice had developed a hip problem which finally convinced him to pack away his golf clubs. 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. I went and visited Barrow-in-Furness and met one of his surviving sons, James, and his grandchildren. He wasnt big-headed. (Supplied: Universal/Nick Wall) We first meet the aging Maurice Flitcroft played by Oscar-winning oddball Mark Rylance ( Bridge of Spies) in one of those So do many others who have dreamed of pursuing a career in something they just don't have the skills or means to achieve the goals. Then, in 1988, my friend and colleague Terry Moore told me about the Maurice Flitcroft Spring Member-Guest that had been held at the Blythefield Country Club in his hometown of Grand Rapids, Mich. Moores brother Tim, a member there, had attached Flitcrofts name to the event in 1978. WebMaurice Flitcroft was the 'Phantom of the Open' - an undaunted amateur who tricked his way into competing among golf's elite. Are you kidding? Son James says: My mum dyed his moustache and hair. He'd seen it on the TV and fell in love with it, got some clubs from a catalog, practiced on the beach and he thought hey this looks like this a similar to what I've seen on the TV, so I think I'm ready for the Open.". I always get together with Terry when we visit her family there, and we never fail to talk about that 1988 Maurice Flitcroft Spring Member-Guest. Isobel Waller-Bridges fizzy, hopeful score bolsters the optimistic mood. Maurice didn't like bullies. London, England (CNN)-- When Maurice G. 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