Long John, Beef bond over drinks

Andrew Johnston, a.k.a. Beef, first met John Daly, a.k.a. Long John, in Germany at the 2012 BMW International Open.

The Englishman, then 23, was making just his 12th start on the European Tour, and Daly, a two-time major champion from Dardanelle, was one of his childhood favorites.

So Johnston, as he told pgatour. com, gathered up his courage and walked over to Daly.

“I read your book,” Beef said. “I’m a big fan.” Long John’s response? “Cool.” As luck would have it, Daly and Johnston crossed paths several more times. A year ago, the two were paired during the second round of the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship at Carnoustie.

“He kicked my ass,” Daly said with a wry grin. For the record, the final tally was Beef 76, Long John 81.

But as Daly put it, the two kindred souls had a “blast” that day. Phone numbers were exchanged, dinner plans made and a friendship was cemented.

Four weeks later, they would meet again at the Turkish Airlines Open. This time, the competition spilled out beyond the golf course.

“He … thought he could drink whiskey like me,” Daly said, chuckling. “And that didn’t pan out too good. It was so funny.

“He came over to the hotel, we just started drinking and listening to music. He tried to keep up, and he just couldn’t.”

Now they find themselves in the same field again this week at the PGA Championship. Daly, who won the PGA 25 years ago in his tournament debut, was making his 24th career start Thursday, shooting a 4-over-par 74. Johnston shot an even-par 70 in his first round at a PGA Championship.

“He’s a people person,” Daly said of Johnston.

“He loves people and he loves people to root for him. That’s just the way I was.

“To get the crowd on your side, it’s not like you have to try real hard. You just got to be nice and try to sign as many autographs as you can and wave to them. That’s all they want.”

Where’s the Beef?

In a shrewd marketing move last week, the agent for rotund golfer Andrew Johnston procured a sponsorship deal with Arby’s. So starting with this week’s PGA Championship, the fast-food chain’s logo is stitched on Beef’s shirt and hat.

A perfect fit for a man who has nine cuts of meat — ribeye, brisket, sirloin, T-bone, filet mignon, porterhouse, skirt, tri-tip and flank — etched in red on his 58-degree wedge.

No word on whether the childhood friend who pinned the original nickname “beef-head” on Johnston gets any residuals.

“I never actually tried Arby’s before I was in Manhattan on Saturday,” Johnston said. “Went in, had a brisket sandwich, and before that I had basically gone with the Wall Street Journal to eat three different burgers … and like, review [them].

“I was really full up. But I nearly ate that whole Arby’s sandwich. Man, it was good.”

Oh, and he worked behind the counter that night, too — although Beef said he was “too scared” to slap any cheese on those burgers. He put the food in the paper bags, though, and shouted out the names for people to pick up their orders.

“That was probably the most fun,” Johnston said when asked about his adventures since leaving Royal Troon. Oh, and he enjoyed introducing his manager to Katz Deli on Sunday.

“I can’t find a better place that does pastrami, man.”

They said it

Eric Kolenich of the Richmond (Va.) Times-Dispatch, on new Virginia football Coach Bronco Mendenhall mulling throwback uniforms to salute the program’s history: “If he really wants to honor U.Va.’s greatness, shouldn’t the team wear basketball jerseys?”

Pete Rose, to the Rochester (N.Y.) Democrat & Chronicle, on today’s baseball salaries: “When we played, we counted our money. Today, they weigh it.”

Daly

Johnston