Johnston beefs up bid with help of the Troon roar
THE romance is almost dead in one charming tale but it lives on magnificently in another. Andrew Johnston is the storm of hair, belly laughs and burgers that simply will not calm down.
While 36-year-old Spaniard Sergio Garcia was watching his latest run at a major tournament stumble to a painfully familiar halt, Englishman Johnston stepped out of his huge shadow and delivered a quite brilliant round of 70 to be five under overall.
He did it to the chorus of ‘Beeeeeef’ — his nickname — and the clatter of fistbumps from the delighted crowd.
They love him, he loves them and with that almighty racket at his back he was blown into the final round of The Open Championship, staring at something quite extraordinary.
The distance to the front still makes the ultimate fairy-tale unlikely but then he is the 27-yearold optimist who revels in going against expectations.
Who could have expected this run, given he was flat broke on the Challenge Tour less than three years ago and only found out he had qualified for this tournament in the past month?
At 104 in the world, none of this seemed plausible when he rocked up as the 16-stone guy with the beard famous for hitting a burger with his driver.
Now he is thinking of the impossible after a round that saw him play a bogey-free front half with birdies at seven and nine.
He dropped shots at 10 and 14 but sent a wonderful roar around the whole of Royal Troon after superbly chipping in at 13th hole. That moment resulted in his mother breaking into floods of tears.
Johnston said: ‘It’s amazing what’s happening. I absolutely love it. On 13 it was quite funny. I did the chip-in and I walked over and I could see my mum crying, which was even funnier. But that got me going a bit.
‘I was like, “Oh my God. I can’t look at my mum. Please, go over there”. But it’s great. That’s what you dream of. To have that reception is amazing. I just love it. I really do.’
Wrestling with nerves is now a key part of the battle going into a Sunday shootout today in what is only his third major.
He has already claimed he ‘believes’ in pulling off the unlikely, but expects his heart to be racing when he steps on to the first tee this afternoon.
Johnston said: ‘I think if you don’t have nerves, it doesn’t mean that much to you, you know? You’ve got to embrace those nerves.
‘You’ve got to get outside yourself in that and go, “No, no, come on, man, I’m playing well. Just keep doing what you’re doing”.
‘If I can concentrate on what I am doing then I seem to be able to deal with it.’
That has come easy to Johnston so far. He spent Friday evening with his mother, sister and fiveyear-old niece.
‘She’s been beating me at cat Top Trumps,’ he said. ‘It could be game time again [on Saturday night].
‘I read her a few books as well on Friday night before I went to bed. It’s nice having your family there. And my sister lives in the States, so I don’t get to see them that much. It’s been really nice.’
Garcia’s day was less uplifting. The serial contender on links had another day where he threatened to make a decisive move but again fell short. He picked up three birdies and one bogey to reach six under and a tie for third at the turn but that is when it started to fall apart. He dropped strokes at 10, 12 and 13 before getting one back at the par-three 14th. A double bogey at the 15th flattened his charge and took him back to two under where he remained.
Yet his game remains in a good place, as does his state of mind after 12 months in which he won only his second title in four years. At 12 in the world, he is looking solid again, but his search for that crowning trophy looks to be over.
Garcia was philosophical last night, saying: ‘If the lead is one or six or 10, it doesn’t matter.
‘Obviously winning is great, but it’s not the only thing. I’d rather finish fifth or third or sixth than 15th. So that’s what I’m going to try to do.’
Meanwhile, Johnston still has a bigger burgers to fry.