ANDREW ‘BEEF’ JOHNSTON groans when he recalls being tricked into living up to his nickname.
He was at a diner in America four weeks ago when the waitress suggested he looked like “the type of guy who might enjoy the house speciality, the Tomahawk Steak”.
When Beef asked how big it was, she told him it was not much larger than a normal steak. She lied.
Beef, who lines up at the final Major of the season — the USPGA Championship at Baltusrol which starts on Thursday — explained: “When it arrived it was like half a cow.
“It was a 32-ounce monster. Honest, it would have filled a good-sized pizza box.
“But she said her husband usually ate it — so I had to show I was up for the challenge. I like my steaks, but never again!”
There is a good chance that waitress knew who she was dealing with, because Beef had another memorable reminder of his growing fame at the Bridgestone Invitational that week.
He said: “When I was on the driving range in Akron for that World Golf Championship event the Americans were shouting out ‘We love you, Beef’. So I shouted ‘Thanks guys, I love you, too.’
“One of them yelled back ‘My mom loves you too, Beef,’ and I said ‘That’s great, I love your mom as well. Can you get her to send me a picture?’
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“Then he came back with ‘She’s over 50 and could do with losing a few pounds’, so I told him ‘Hey stop that — all mothers are beautiful.’
“That got a big laugh and I kept on bouncing off these guys for about an hour.
“I love that kind of stuff and I was buzzing by the time I went onto the course.
“We have a responsibility as role models and I want to get as many people playing the game as possible.
“Since I finished eighth at The Open I’ve had loads of messages from people saying they’d fallen out of love with the game but after watching me they’re taking it up again. You can’t get better than that, can you?”
As Beef holds court at North Middlesex Golf Club he keeps flashing that trademark toothy smile at passing members.
They all yell ‘Don’t forget to mention what a really nice bloke he is.’
The man himself seems embarrassed. And he changes the subject by reaching for his phone to show off the favourite ‘lookalike’ images his growing army of fans have sent him.
He added: “My Twitter account has gone mad. This time last year I had about 1,500 followers. Now it’s up to almost 38,000. I added 25,000 in one week during The Open.
“But I love inter-acting with them and the stuff they send me is great.” Like these lookalikes. Beef added: “I’ve had Matt Lucas and Brian Blessed recently among others, but my favourite has to be the Yeti from Bigfoot and the Hendersons.
“Isn’t that fantastic? I might use that one for my homepage.
“I’m not offended by that sort of stuff. Why should I be? It’s a great crack. I’ve always been a big lad.”
Sixteen-stone Beef, 27, has always been a big golfer, too.
He said: “I was four when dad started taking me, my brother James and Emily, my sister, to the chip and putt course.
HOW HE GOT HIS NICKNAME
WHEN I was 12. My hair was a lot curlier and stuck out like an Afro.
I was out playing and one of the older guys, Mark Kniller, shouted: “Hey Andrew, what’s happening with your hair? You look like you’ve got a beef head.”
By the time I finished, he had told everyone and I’ve been known as Beef ever since. My beard is my other trademark. I’ve tried growing one a few times because one of my favourite rappers, Scroobius Pip, has a killer beard.
I let it grow last year and a few of the players started tugging on it. I wasn’t going to give them the satisfaction of shaving it off, so I’m sticking with it.
“But I was the only one who showed any real interest and I joined North Middlesex, at nine.”
Johnston spent his spare time during Open week playing Top Trumps with his five-year-old niece. He added: “I’d love to have kids myself one day.
“I’ve been with my girlfriend, Louise, for seven years now and we moved in together last year.
“So maybe it won’t be too much longer before we start a family. Beef Junior, eh — that’s got a nice ring to it, hasn’t it?”
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