WE had an unexpected guest on the Herald sports desk the other afternoon, joined by none other than our esteemed editor, Graeme Smith, armed with a bundle of news pages to proof through.

Normally, this process is conducted while ensconced in his own hot seat. But on Tuesday, I was blessed with his company as he went about his duties, until, on the stroke of three o’clock, he asked if the TV could be switched on. Was there a speech being made about the forthcoming General Election? Or something about Trump, or the NHS, or any on-going court cases in our city, perhaps?

No, he only wanted to watch Eurosport to see Scotland’s under-17’s take on their French counterparts out in Croatia in the European Championship, where ‘son of’ Lewis Smith of Hamilton Accies, was on the bench. The father and son duo remained seated for the 90 minutes, Scotland eliminated after a 2-1 loss.

Next day the squad headed home – except young Mr Smith and a few of his teammates, who remained in Croatia for an extra day. Sight-seeing, doing the touristy bit? Had they missed the flight?

Actually, as arranged in advance, they were forced to stay on until they could sit their English Higher exam paper on Thursday.

Brains and a good first touch. He obviously must take those traits from his mother. Or so said Matthew Lindsay, with Neil Cameron, Stewart Fisher, Graeme MacPherson and Scott Mullen, all nodding in agreement.

NOT only did it catch my eye, the old lugs pricked up when I heard the story the other day of Clifton McDonald, a golfer (allegedly), who shot 127 around the Silver Lakes course in Glencoe, Alabama, as he attempted to qualify for the US Open.

His round, unsurprisingly, didn’t contain a single hole played in regulation, as he carded a 55-over par score.

Listening to one report of this achievement on the wireless, I was taken by the incredulity and ignorance displayed by the radio presenter, because in praising the ‘unique’ McDonald, it was clear they’d never heard of the legendary Maurice Flitcroft, the ex-sailor, shipyard crane operator and former stunt high diver, who in 1976 became front-page news as he tried to qualify for The Open at Birkdale. 

With his half-set of catalogue clubs and leatherette bag, Maurice set about taking apart the qualifying venue at Formby.

“Gripping the club like he was intent on murdering someone,” according to playing partner Jim Howard, Flitcroft, coached only by what he’d gleaned from a Peter Alliss instruction book, proceeded to fire a round of 121, described by one sage as a “blizzard of triple and quadruple bogeys ruined by a solitary par.”

That 121, for the record, was an estimation, as the scorer lost count once or twice. Who knew Diane Abbott had a summer job back then. Needing to shoot an unlikely 23 the next day to qualify, Flitcroft retired. A furious R&A duly retired him for life, banned sine die.

Even then Maurice did try to enter the tournament again over future years, as Swiss pro Gerald Hoppy and Gene Paychecki from the USA. The officials though, saw through his guise.

All of which is a long-winded way of saying that if Clifton McDonald’s efforts were deemed newsworthy this week, then surely the bold Maurice Flitcroft, RIP, deserved a mention in despatches for being the original, and some might say the best blagger of all in the history of the Majors.