As an unknown golfer Maurice Flitcroft got up to play in the sport's most prestigious tournament, there was clearly something wrong.

The 46-year old was dressed in a baggy jungle hat and cheap plastic shoes. He also got down on his fours to put his tee.

Maurice posed as a professional golfer to qualify for the 1976 British Open. He lined up his first drive, and took a poor swing at his ball. It went a miserable 40 yards.

His shots were not better as he hit into the bushes and misaligned simple putts.

Maurice was already halfway around the course when officials with red faces tried to convince him to retire.

He was not the gifted player that he claimed to be.

He was instead a shipyard worker, who had never been on a golf course in all his life. Instead, he practiced in muddy fields and at the local beach.

The chain-smoking fraud was determined to win the Claret Jug trophy at the tournament, which was held in Southport's Royal Birkdale Golf Club.

This was the year that Seve Ballesteros, a 19-year-old Spanish prodigy, made his debut to the world. He finished joint-second with Johnny Miller in the US.

Mischievous Maurice was eliminated from qualifying following an 18-hole score at Merseyside’s Formby Golf Club of 121 -- a terrible 49 OVER PAR, and the worst round of British Open history.

Putt missed

James, 59 years old, told HOAR that Maurice wasn't one to give up. He said that Maurice had a problem because he wouldn’t quit. You can count on anything.

He would not stop until he had done it, whether it was building a Bobsleigh for us or learning a language.

"So, for them to ask him about retiring was out of the question.

"He had paid his money, so he wanted his money to be worth it."

Maurice was the first sporting loser to be loved, long before Eddie "The Eagle", an English ski-jumper, or Eric "The Eel", a swimmer from Equatorial Guinea, central Africa.

He was called "the worst golfer in the world" and received headlines all over the globe.

Later, the eccentric amateur failed to hit a putt as he appeared on a mock course for daytime television. He complained that the studio floor beneath the indoor green was uneven.

In the United States, a tournament was named after him to celebrate effort and not ability.

Now, Sir Mark Rylance plays Maurice, who was 77 years old when he died in 2007.

His story does not end with the ignominious Open loss.

Although The Royal And Ancient, the tournament bosses based in Scotland, at the "home for golf", St Andrews, prohibited Maurice from ever competing again under any number of comedy pseudonyms, Maurice continued to try to enter the Open and other professional tournaments around the globe. These included Gene Pacecki (pay check); Arnold Palmtree (in a nod towards American golfing legend Arnold Palmer); and the completely absurd moniker of Count Manfred von Hoffmenstal.

Maurice tried to hide his famous face. James, son of Maurice, says that his mother dyed his hair and moustache. He also used pseudonyms and hats.

"My brother Philip was from Switzerland so he would send Dad an entry form. He also had an American friend who would do the same." Maurice was frequently chased off course in his deerstalker cap and threatened with arrest.

In desperate times, Keith Mackenzie, Royal And Ancient secretary -- played by Rhys Ifans from Notting Hill in the new film -- hired a handwriting specialist to help him flush out fake applications.

Golf was Maurice's passion, and James and Gene's love for the sport were what first ignited it.

James says, "We started playing golf when we were 10 or 11. Our dad bought us clubs. We had cricket pads, balls and wickets if we wanted to play. The same was true for golf clubs.

He liked the idea of us cleaning them and practicing with our friends. He was soon practicing every day with his new set of clubs.

However, the family did not have enough income to afford a membership at a golf club.

Maurice was a crane operator for Vickers-Armstrongs shipbuilders in Barrow-in-Furness in Cumbria. His wife Jean, who died in 2002, was part of the secretarial team there.

Unfazed, Maurice continued to practice hitting the ball along the beach, in the park, and on school grounds, sometimes sneaking onto courses at night. James says that Maurice was fined for playing on the grammar-school field, which is about 100 yards from our home.

Maurice's twin boys did not know that their father was participating in British Open qualifying in 1976. His employers also didn't know. After he had failed to qualify, he told his bosses that he was ill. They were shocked to see photos of him walking along with Seve Ballesteros at Open.

Maurice was there to observe and was close enough to Seve for a photo.

James says, "One weekend he left and we didn’t think much of it." On Saturday, HOAR ran a headline stating that Maurice Flitcroft had shot 121 at the Open.

Seve: Walking behind

"We were around 12. "We were about 12.

Although the brothers were prone to ribbing, Maurice was much more hurtful and was sent home with his marching orders.

James says that they realized he wasn’t sick when he was seen in the newspaper. He lost his job and Mum took over the care of him. He was the first house-husband.

Maurice's entry into the sport was also a surprise to local golfing elites, who promptly blackballed Maurice.

James, an ex-tuner and jeweller, says that he was virtually unemployed because of his actions.

"The golf course was stigmatized.

"That was something we were both annoyed at growing up. This probably affected our job prospects after we graduated from school. The majority of the management was avid golfers. "The powers that be" Maurice was determined to keep his job. He had the support of his family as well as many people in the community.

James said that his dad would tell us "Well done to your dad" for the things he did.

Gene, who passed away in 2010, and James were with him on his adventures up and down the country, sometimes acting as his caddy.

James recalls that his father pitched a tent once at Scotland's Gullane golf club, in East Lothian. However, they later realized they were right in the middle the car park.

He said, "It was full of cars. He said, "Dad, it was filling up with cars."

James didn't like being caddy because it meant that he had to face furious officials after Maurice was rumbled.

He smiles and recalls: "I wasn’t keen on the confrontation, but Dad loved it."

Maurice was indeed the subject of much attention from the Press.

He told photographers, "I'll be seeing you next year," after the 1976 Open. His dentures were missing.

The dedication of their father was passed on to the twins -- Gene and James loved dancing and became world disco champions.

Maurice was a golfer all his life, but Jean, played by Paddington actress Sally Hawkins, never complained to him. James says that they were an old-fashioned couple. He adds: "They supported one another in every endeavor."

"She didn't say, 'Don't do it'. She was a conspirator."

Maurice developed a hip problem in 1992. He was finally forced to give up his golf clubs.

He might have been treated as a joke by the sporting world, but he wanted to be a great golfer.

James claims he was a decent player in club and certainly not the worst.

He said, "Dad took this seriously -- deadly serious. He said, "Go for it! That was our family's attitude. That attitude has remained constant throughout our lives. It is important to be a hare-brained person.

• The Phantom Of The Open (12A), is now in cinemas starting Friday.