Flitcroft prepared for the tournament by studying a golf instruction manual by Peter Alliss which he had borrowed from his local library.
[10] Australian golfer Mike Cahill, who was playing directly behind Flitcroft, stated, "I just snapped at the 12th [hole] and accosted him," he later said.
Undeterred, he regularly attempted to enter the Open and other golf competitions, either under his own name or under pseudonyms, such as Gene Paycheki[12] (as in pay cheque), Gerrard Hoppy, and James Beau Jolley.
[1] Other more ludicrous names included Arnold Palmtree and Count Manfred von Hoffmanstel, together with physical disguises such as a false moustache and dark glasses.
He also had the distinction of being celebrated with the "Maurice Gerald Flitcroft Member-Guest Tournament" which was first held in 1978 by the Blythefield Country Club in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Flitcroft's career was highlighted in Stephen Pile's 1979 bestseller, The Book of Heroic Failures, bringing him greater popular recognition.
Flitcroft 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.