When 46-year-old crane driver and former comedy stunt-diver Maurice Flitcroft chanced his way into the Open - having never before played a round of golf in his life - he ran up a record-worst score of 121. The sport's ruling classes went nuclear, and banned him for life.

Maurice didn't take it lying down. In a hilarious game of cat-and-mouse with The Man, he entered tournaments again - and again, and again - using increasingly ludicrous pseudonyms such as Gene Pacecki, Arnold Palmtree and Count Manfred von Hoffmanstel (more often than not disguised by a Zapata moustache soaked in food dye).

In doing so, he sent the authorities into apoplexy, and won the hearts of hackers from Muirfield to Michigan, becoming arguably the most popular - but certainly the bravest - sporting underdog the world has ever known

Scott Murray writes for the Guardian, the Fiver, FourFourTwo, GQ and Men's Health. He is the co-author of the football miscellanyDay of the Match: A History of Football in 365 Days, and contributed to both volumes ofIs It Just Me Or Is Everything Shit?

Simon Farnaby is an actor and writer. Among his recent TV acting credits he was Spike inJam and Jerusalemand he played Hamilton Cork, Pie-Face Records and Harold Boom inThe Mighty Boosh. In film, he starred as Bunny in this year's British Indie hitBunny and The Bull.