The sport of golf does not often generate overnight idols, but during 2016, an Englishman by the name of Andrew Johnston temporarily eclipsed even Tiger Woods in terms of popularity.

In his conversation with Golf Monthly, Andrew "Beef" Johnston reminisces about the time when he had become incredibly popular to such a degree that it became simply surreal.

"I'll tell you how nuts it got. There was a poll before one of the US Opens I played in where people were asked who they were looking forward to seeing most, and I finished top of the poll, ahead of Tiger Woods," Johnston said.

It was conducted in 2016, the same year when Johnston claimed his title at the Spanish Open and played in three Majors. However, even though Woods himself had withdrawn from the 2016 US Open at Oakmont due to back surgery, Johnston still found his way above him in anticipation by fans.

The hype surrounding the US Open was just a taste of what was to come when Johnston showed up for The Open Championship a few weeks later at Royal Troon, with people yelling his nickname at him before he even had a chance to tee off.

"Then I hole the putt on the first, and you'd have thought I'd just won the Claret Jug," he said, describing the reaction from the Scottish crowd on debut.

That putt was the starting point of a week in which Johnston was T8th overall, undoubtedly the best Major finish in his career.

His good results allowed him to obtain a PGA Tour card for the following year through the Korn Ferry Tour playoffs.

This win at Troon looks like an eternity ago, considering all the struggles Johnston went through after that. His present run is much tougher and is one of overcoming adversity.

Andrew Johnston Returns To Form On The DP World Tour

The player continues to participate in professional golf tournaments and is a member of the DP World Tour with a medical card valid until 2026. This exemption was issued due to problems with ligaments in his thumbs and subsequent operations.

His comeback run started at the Volvo China Open, where he scored 66, 69, 73, and 70, resulting in a T25 performance at six under.

This was followed by a T61st finish at the Turkish Airlines Open, carding 77, 68, 72 and 75 for four over, his weakest result of the run.

Form was once again regained in the Estrella Damm Catalunya Championship when 73, 69, 71 and 69 saw him to six under, while the Soudal Open resulted in a better performance when 69, 64, 67 and 70 saw him finish T13 at 14 under.

Most recently, Johnston finished T17th in the Austrian Alpine Open, ending up at 11 under after rounds of 67, 62, 70, and 70.

This is definitely an indication that he's going in the right direction when it comes to his health and form.

Will Can Beef be able to turn things around? Comment down.

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Written by

Utsav Gupta

Edited by

Utsav Gupta