IMDb RATING
7.0/10
8.2K
YOUR RATING
Maurice Flitcroft, a dreamer and unrelenting optimist, manages to gain entry to the 1976 British Open Golf Championship qualification round despite being a complete novice.Maurice Flitcroft, a dreamer and unrelenting optimist, manages to gain entry to the 1976 British Open Golf Championship qualification round despite being a complete novice.Maurice Flitcroft, a dreamer and unrelenting optimist, manages to gain entry to the 1976 British Open Golf Championship qualification round despite being a complete novice.
- Awards
- 2 nominations
Austin W Griffin
- Young Mike
- (as Austin Griffin)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaMaurice Flitcroft used to practise his golf on the playing fields of the local grammar school as he was banned from all golf courses in the area.
- GoofsThe beginning of the movie shows what looks like an old globe and zooms in on an old map to Maurice childhood. However the map borders and countries are modern from today 2022.
- Quotes
Jean Flitcroft: I knew a young man once. Said he was gonna be somebody. Promised me diamonds, caviar, champagne. Travel the world, he said.
Maurice Flitcroft: Sounds like you-you should've married him.
- Crazy creditsBefore the final credits, actual archive footage is shown of interviews with Maurice that were featured during the film, showing that they actually happened.
- ConnectionsFeatures Good Morning Britain (1983)
- SoundtracksPick Up the Pieces
Performed by Average White Band
Written by Alan Gorrie, Malcolm Duncan, Robbie McIntosh (as Robert McIntosh), Onnie McIntyre (as Owen McIntyre), Roger Ball and Hamish Stuart (as James Hamish Stuart)
Licensed courtesy of Demon Music Group
Published by BMG Rights Management UK Ltd., a BMG company and by Joe's Songs Ltd.
Administered by Wixen Music Publishing Ltd. and by Fairwood Music Ltd.
Featured review
Maurice Flitcroft is a crane operator at a shipyard in Barrow-in-Furness, England. After never having played a round of golf in his life and with an estimation of his golf abilities that far exceeded them, he applies to play in the 1976 British Open. To his surprise, his application is accepted. In the opening round he shoots 121, the highest round of golf at a major tournament. This is his (largely true) story.
Several years ago I heard of Maurice Flitcroft and his golf notoriety. As someone who likes playing golf but isn't much good at it, his story appealed to me. The fact that this was also an up yours to sports administrators and put their noses out of joint also appealed to me and I have a dim regard for sports administrators. So, imagine my delight when I discovered that a movie had been made out of his story.
The golf side of the story is as entertaining as you'd imagine. What's more, he didn't just play at the 1976 British Open but managed to get in a few more times after that! This just makes it even more engaging.
I was expecting the non-golf stuff to be a bit dull and more there to pad out the time but it's actually quite interesting and engaging too. There's a good feel for the family dynamic and how Flitcroft's naïve optimism rubs off on his children. Makes for some heart-warming scenes, especially towards the end.
On that note, Mark Rylance is great as Flitcroft, imbuing him with a great sense of innocence and positivity, a man who believes that anything is possible and that you don't know until you try. His demonstrations of his massively inflated view of his own golf abilities are quite funny and something to behold.
This sense of innocence and of an average guy just having a go makes Flitcroft very supportable and very relatable.
Several years ago I heard of Maurice Flitcroft and his golf notoriety. As someone who likes playing golf but isn't much good at it, his story appealed to me. The fact that this was also an up yours to sports administrators and put their noses out of joint also appealed to me and I have a dim regard for sports administrators. So, imagine my delight when I discovered that a movie had been made out of his story.
The golf side of the story is as entertaining as you'd imagine. What's more, he didn't just play at the 1976 British Open but managed to get in a few more times after that! This just makes it even more engaging.
I was expecting the non-golf stuff to be a bit dull and more there to pad out the time but it's actually quite interesting and engaging too. There's a good feel for the family dynamic and how Flitcroft's naïve optimism rubs off on his children. Makes for some heart-warming scenes, especially towards the end.
On that note, Mark Rylance is great as Flitcroft, imbuing him with a great sense of innocence and positivity, a man who believes that anything is possible and that you don't know until you try. His demonstrations of his massively inflated view of his own golf abilities are quite funny and something to behold.
This sense of innocence and of an average guy just having a go makes Flitcroft very supportable and very relatable.
- How long is The Phantom of the Open?Powered by Alexa
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Official sites
- Languages
- Also known as
- Acemi Golfçü
- Filming locations
- Littlestone golf course, Littlestone, Kent, UK(Second Golf Tournamant)
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Gross US & Canada
- $748,695
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $25,577
- Jun 5, 2022
- Gross worldwide
- $4,025,222
- Runtime1 hour 46 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 2.35 : 1
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content