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SPRINGFIELD, N.J. — Andrew Johnston, a bon vivant who sports a thick beard on his face and belly out over his white belt, walks the grounds at Baltusrol with the gait of a golfing Falstaff.

He lunches with friend John Daly, rides in a courtesy Benz and plays basketball off site. He notes that he “tricked the ball really well” at Royal Troon to finish eighth in the British Open despite hitting “the biggest shank you’ll ever see” on the par-5 fourth.

He also prefers a cooler climate than temperatures that climb to 90 degrees as they have already in the 98th PGA Championship’s practice rounds, but insists no trim will come as he pursues a Wanamaker Trophy. Johnston needs no adjusting.

“The beard’s the beard, man,” he says. “You’ve got to deal with it.”

Affectionately known as “Beef,” Johnston enjoys it all. During a summer when Rory McIlroy, an Irishman ranked No. 4 in the world, dismissed the task of growing the game beyond its current contours as a boutique sport at the Olympics, Johnston injects a common touch to the field that will contend for the year’s fourth and final major.

Johnston and McIlroy agree that there are no hidden secrets to discover in Baltusrol, only balls to drive and shots to make en route to a crowning at the end of four days of play. Given the hard sun overhead, Johnston, who stands 5-10 and weighs 220 pounds, elected to conserve his energy on Tuesday. At 27, he paces himself accordingly, waking up early on Wednesday to get in the first nine holes.

“I’m not going to play 18 in the heat,” he says. “I’m just going to go and chill out after.”

There will be more heat to withstand moving forward. Johnston is slated to start in Group No. 39 at 12:35 p.m. Thursday. This is his first PGA Championship, but he is growing comfortable as a recurring surname on the top-10 leaderboards.

First there was the fourth place finish at Qatar Masters and then there was the win at the Open de Espana before finishing seventh at the BMW PGA Championship. He is reading the greens better and riding an up-and-down stretch that doubles as a learning curve.

His initial impression proved to be inimitable as fans donned ginger beards Tuesday to show their support for the North Londoner.

“I said to one of them, ‘Who got these beards?’” Johnston says. “And they all pointed at one guy. And I was like, ‘I hope he’s buying all the drinks for you!’”

Plenty of prize money lines Johnson’s pockets from this year. There is also a corporate sponsorship that he earned in the last week.

Arby’s, the fast food place long lampooned by Jon Stewart on “The Daily Show,” inked Johnston to an endorsement deal before Johnston ever bit into the company’s meat stateside. He is aware of his growing place in the game, an ear bent to the chants of “Beeeeef!” that came at the British Open. Still, he maintains that his mechanics remain the priority over all. He noted that he viewed one video of a kid hitting a cheeseburger with a club.

“I was like, ‘No, no, no, make him hit a golf ball, please!’” he says.

Johnston comes into Baltusrol with a bag full of irons and