His step-son Michael has consequently achieved strong academic qualifications and is now a rapidly-rising manager at the Vickers yard, while disco-loving twin sons Gene and James are encouraged to chase glory in dancing competitions.

Warned by Michael that an impending nationalisation of Vickers could result in him becoming redundant, Maurice is initially unsure of what he could turn to before finding himself by chance watching the British Open on TV.

Though The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews have never heard of him, they reason that no-one would ever dare lie on the application form and therefore accept his entry into the 1976 Open without investigation.

Refusing to give up on his new hobby, he continues to train and in following years he re-enters the tournament by assuming a series of fake names and disguises, while attempting to raise his profile by actively pursuing media appearances.

Finally close to accepting defeat, the following day Maurice receives a letter from America which informs him that his performances led to the creation of a new golf tournament which can only be won by playing badly, and which has become very popular amongst amateur golfers.

In May 2020, it was announced Craig Roberts would direct the film, from a screenplay by Simon Farnaby based upon his biographical book The Phantom of the Open: Maurice Flitcroft, The World's Worst Golfer.

[8] In October 2020, Sally Hawkins, Rhys Ifans, Jake Davies, Christian Lees, Jonah Lees, Mark Lewis Jones and Johann Myers, joined the cast of the film, with Entertainment One set to distribute in the United Kingdom and the Universal Pictures Content Group striking a deal for multiple territories including Germany, Austria, Italy, the Benelux, Greece, Portugal, Turkey, Eastern Europe, Latin America, India, Indonesia, Taiwan, Africa, Australia, New Zealand, the Middle East, Israel, the CIS and the Baltics.

The website’s critical consensus states, "Led by a stellar performance from Mark Rylance, The Phantom of the Open turns a stranger-than-fiction true story into crowd-pleasing entertainment.