Hoops fan Johnston heads for European Tour with Brendan’s blessing
RISING Scottish golf star Liam Johnston is ready for take off on the European Tour this week – after flying high with Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers.
Johnston earned promotion to the main circuit through the Challenge Tour rankings after two wins in 2018.
And the 25-year-old will get his 2019 campaign underway tomorrow in the Honma Hong Kong Open with some pearls of wisdom from Hoops boss Rodgers still fresh in his mind Johnston said: “It was a red-eye flight. Brendan obviously wanted to sleep and I had a lot of questions. But we had a good wee chat. He was really nice.
“It was just after that 6-0 win Celtic had [against St Johnstone] that got their season going and he was talking about what he’d said to his players about desire and will. It was interesting to hear him. You are a wee bit timid when faced with talking to the guy who manages your favourite team but he was brilliant and it was good to tap into his experience.”
Johnston will be the first to admit that he is hardly golf’s Mr Consistency. After his first Challenge Tour win in May he missed eight of his next 11 cuts before winning again in Kazakhstan.
He added: “If I’m on my game, I’m on and I’ll do well but if I’m off it I will miss the cut. I don’t know what you’d rather be to be honest?
“People have asked me that question. Would you rather have a lot of top 10s or a couple of wins? I’d prefer the way it is, to have wins but that’s easy to say as that’s the way my career has panned out.
“But consistency will be important on the tour. I need to make my bad stuff better and make money on the weeks when I’m not playing that well.”