Andrew Johnston: A Closer Look at "Beef" (Video)

It’s been a tough road back from a 2012 failure of form and fitness to his Open de España victory for Andrew Johnston.

Andrew Johnston is the European Tour’s newest champion. His win at the Open de España should have come as no surprise. The 27-year old Englishman has been knocking at the European Tour first victory door for a couple of years.

The win completes a long journey for Johnston, who first made it onto The European Tour via the Challenge Tour in 2012 before a loss of form and fitness saw him lose his card.

Beef came into the final round at Valderrama at 2-over par and even with Joost Luiten. Rain had softened the course with lighter winds making birdies more possible in the final round. Johnston made what proved to be the vital gain on the 16th and signed for a one under par 70 to take the title by one shot. He came off the course weeping.

"It is what you dream of to have your name on a trophy alongside so many special names like Seve, Faldo, Langer – Andrew Johnston"

There was no shortage of form in Andrew Johnson’s swing at Valderrama.

With this victory Andrew Johnston became the first man to win a European Tour event with an over par score since Justin Rose won the US Open at Merion in 2013. It’s been a long journey for Johnston, who started playing golf as a 4-year old and enjoyed a successful amateur career before he turned pro in 2009.

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Initially Johnston played some of the Mini tours around England and then established a presence on the Europro Tour in 2010 with 3 top 5 and 6 top 20 finishes. He looked to be off to a good start, gaining the experience he needed to take the next step in his career.

Johnston’s break came in 2011 at the Kartnen Golf Open in Austria. A weekend 66 put him into 3rd position and suddenly a European Tour card was on Beef’s horizon. It game him the confidence and the belief that he had the game to compete on the European Tour stage.

With his eyes on a 2012 card Johnston went on a golf binge, recording 6 top-25 finishes in 10 events and topping it off with a 3rd place finish at the Grand Finale in Italy. A 2012 European Tour card was his, briefly. Johnston lost a battle with form and fitness and his European Tour playing privileges slipped away.

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He fought back and fans could see the results of that fight long before Andrew Johnston hoisted the trophy at Valderrama. A 3rd place finish at the 2014 Alfred Dunhill Championship didn’t come without considerable work. It was paying off. Johnston recorded an eighth top ten of the year at the Grand Final in Dubai and that confirmed his position at the head of the Rankings. 2014 was a fine season in which he won twice on the Challenge Tour, first at the Scottish Hydro Challenge and then at Le Vaudreuil Golf Challenge.

Andrew Johnston looked to be back in business. He recorded a T4 at the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters this last January and followed up in February with a top-15 at the ISPS Handa Perth International.

With his Open de España win Andrew Johnston rocketed from 233rd in the OWGR to 125 and became the 5th first-time European Tour winner this year, alongside Nathan Holman (Australian PGA Championship), Marc Leishman (Nedbank Golf Challenge), Brandon Stone (BMW SA Open hosted by City of Ekurhuleni), and Haydn Porteous (Joburg Open).

Next: Louis Oosthuizen Steps Back From Olympic Golf

And Beef Johnston’s beard is also impressive. As facial hair goes, his beard is right out there on the edge of spectacular!

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Andrew Johnston: A Closer Look at “Beef” (Video)

By Elizabeth Bethel | Apr 22, 2016

It’s been a tough road back from a 2012 failure of form and fitness to his Open de España victory for Andrew Johnston.

More from Pro Golf Now