It almost reads like a fairytale. A young Englishman wins twice on the European Challenge Tour on his way to topping the 2014 Rankings before growing a beard, winning at Valderrama and becoming a global golfing icon. What a journey it has been for Andrew Johnston since graduating to the European Tour two years ago.
The man now known globally as Beef has fast become one of the Challenge Tour’s best-known ambassadors, delighting fans with his personable manner while forever keen to point out the important role Europe’s top developmental tour played in his rise to the top of the game.
“It was massive for me,” said the 27 year old. “It put me in a good place and that made me believe I could do well out on the European Tour and to win the Challenge Tour is a great thing that I’ve done, and I’ll always look back on it as a great achievement.
“Playing Challenge Tour gave me experience and maturity, and experience of travel as well. You’re traveling a lot, four rounds of golf, strong fields, good golfers, so it’s not at all dissimilar from the European Tour when you get there.”
After retaining his European Tour card in 2015 – and producing one of the moments of the season when he made a hole-in-one at the BMW PGA Championship – it was 2016 that really saw Johnston prosper, and the Beef phenomenon grow.
A top five finish in the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters preceded his breakthrough victory in the Real Club Valderrama Open de España, hosted by the Sergio Garcia Foundation, which took the Beef brand to a global audience for the first time.
A strong showing again at Wentworth, where he finished tied seventh in front of his home fans, was followed by a maiden trip to America as he qualified for the U.S. Open.
The American fans took Beef to their hearts, with his bearded grin delighting all lining the fairways at Oakmont, and there were similar scenes when he crossed back over the Atlantic to tee it up in The 145th Open Championship at Royal Troon.
While Henrik Stenson – the Challenge Tour Rankings winner in 2000 – and Phil Mickelson, another former winner on the Challenge Tour, were duelling for the Claret Jug, Johnston’s memorable charge on the Saturday afternoon prevented it from being a two horse race.
Thousands of fans left the leaders alone for the day as Johnston moved into the top five, delighting the galleries as he produced some of his very best golf under incredible global scrutiny, before he ultimately finished eighth.
A third place in the Omega European Masters – where he played alongside 2016 Road to Oman Number Nine Romain Langasque for the first two rounds – was a late season highlight as Johnston ended the year in 26th spot in the Race to Dubai.
Ultimately, the numbers and results, impressive though they are, do not matter as much as his magnetic personality and refreshing down-to-earth approach, which have helped make him one of the most popular players around – in 2016, it’s safe to say that Beef arrived.
