ANDREW JOHNSTON counts John Daly as one of his golfing heroes — and admits he is a modern version of the Wild Thing.
The two larger-than-life golfers struck up a close friendship when Beef spotted the American at an event in Germany.
Since then there have been several nights out — including one in which Daly drank Johnston under the table in Turkey — and a few practice rounds together.
Englishman Johnston, 28, grinned: “Man, I just love JD.
“I always liked him as a kid. I liked his character and yeah, I can see a bit of myself in him. We both love life and love the game.
“We can have a nice laugh and a good time. We just chill out. He’s kind of similar to me, quite laid-back.
“He’s got a big heart and I get on well with him.
“The first time I actually met him was in Germany, at the BMW, when I had just got my Tour card in 2012.
“My brother was there and he said, ‘There’s John Daly over there’. I had read his autobiography so I walked straight up to him and said, ‘John, I’m Andrew. It’s nice to meet you. I’m a big fan’.
“He was cool about it. We got on well and I saw him at a few other events and then we played the Dunhill at Carnoustie last year.
“We got on really well. He took me out, invited me to dinner and then we had dinner together in Turkey as well. The less said about that night, the better!”
Daly, 50, showed his fun side by dressing up in a stars and stripes outfit for the traditional champions’ dinner at the USPGA, complete with a set of horns and shoulder-length braids.
He famously won the 1991 USPGA as the ninth alternate after driving through the night to get to Crooked Stick in Indiana and added The Open title four years later.
A Beef win this week would certainly be a popular victory.
Johnston had to cut short his first practice round at Baltusrol after it took him more than 4½ hours to play just 11 holes — mainly because he kept stopping to sign a mass of autographs.
With the temperature in the high-90s, he was in danger of becoming Roast Beef — but still spent another hour with his army of fans afterwards.
They included a group who dressed up in fake beards to resemble him and an elderly spectator who got Beef to lift his shirt, so they could compare bellies for a picture.
He had to head out on the course at 7.30am yesterday to play the holes he missed but was still besieged by well-wishers.
Johnston’s popularity was underlined when he headed to the media centre for an interview and attracted a bigger crowd of reporters than world No 1 Jason Day.
Beef had his audience in stitches and was inevitably asked about his beard — and if girlfriend Louise likes it.
He said: “She did at first, but now she’s telling me I should lose it. But no way.
“The beard’s the beard man. It’s staying. You’ve got to deal with it. It is getting a bit ragged and I do need a trim and a haircut.
“Everything’s been absolutely crazy since The Open and I just haven’t had the time.
“At the weekend I was in Manhattan visiting three burger joints to do a comparison piece for the Wall Street Journal — honestly, you couldn’t make this stuff up.
“Then I was serving meals for my new sponsor Arby’s and got stuck into one of their sandwiches.
“I took my manager to Katz Deli for lunch the next day because I can’t find a place that does better pastrami. And I do like my food.
“I had someone send me a video of his kid hitting a burger with a golf club and I replied, ‘No, that’s all wrong, get him hitting balls instead’.
“I know people see me as this genial guy who likes to have fun and that’s cool. But the most important thing is the golf.
“This is what I grew up dreaming of doing and if I can play like I did at The Open I’ll be really happy.”
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