BEEF’S BATTLE
Journey from fame to despair:
ANDREW JOHNSTON rose to overnight fame – then plunged into the depths of despair.
Now the popular Londoner has found a happy balance with the help of a new-found perspective and a smiling baby girl.
And bearded Beef, 31, is keen to talk about his experiences to remove any lingering stigma of discussing mental health.
“It can happen to anyone – it doesn’t matter what you do, what background you are from – everyone is vulnerable,” he said.
“There can be different triggers. The stresses of work and things like that. The more open people are, the better it is.
“So be nice to everyone because you don’t know what they are going through. People saw me as the joker but had no idea what was going on.
“If you are working with someone, just ask how they are. You never know until you ask.”
The soundtrack to the 2016 Open was the chant of “Beeeeef” as he contended for two rounds at Royal Troon.
And he was an even bigger noise in the USA, where he became a cult figure and the face of burger chain Arby’s. But instant fame came at a price for the “normal geezer from Finchley”. He said: “It took a lot more out of me than I thought. It happened in a flash from The Open in 2016 to the end of 2017.
“I was putting too much pressure on myself and not enjoying it.
“I eventually realised that I’d been punching myself in the face for two years. And I understood it was not the golf.”
Beef wrote a European Tour blog last July revealing he had cried after a final round in November 2018 and how later he felt like walking off the course because of anger and frustration. By then, his now fiancee Jodie
Valencia had persuaded him to talk to sports psychologist Ben Davies and devise a coping strategy for his return to the game.
He said: “You are always going to have bad days in golf, but there are a lot more important things.
“Now I am not turning it into a life-or-death matter – there is a lot more perspective there.”
His daughter, Harley Noelle, left with Jodie and Beef, arrived in December. “Having her and Jodie is the best thing in the world,” said Johnston. “If you have a bad day and she turns around and
looks at you with a big grin, you forget about the golf.”
The world No189 still wants to play in the Majors and Ryder Cup and crack the world’s top 50.
The 2016 Spanish Open champion insists his happiness helps his game and he recorded four top-10 finishes in the second half of last season.
He said: “I am competitive and want to win. But it is realising, if you don’t, it is OK. I have done my best and let’s have a go next week. That seemed to really work for me over the last year.”