British Open notes: ‘Beef’ is enjoying his experience at Royal Troon

Andrew “Beef” Johnston will almost certainly not win the British Open; he was seven shots back going into the final round at Royal Troon.

He’s guaranteed to be the guy who can say he was second to the champion in reveling in the experience.

Already something of a folk hero because of his sizable paunch, oversize beard and a golf game that showed promise with a European tour victory in Spain this year, Johnston earned an adoring reception and standing ovation at the 18th green on Saturday when completed his one-under-par 70.

Flashing his rather large teeth, Johnston, who hails from North London, stood on the edge of the green, folded his arms, and shook his head in what seemed like utter enjoyment and disbelief.

Afterward, in meeting with the media, he was as engaging as he looks.

“Oh, it’s been amazing, man,” said Johnston, who seems to accentuate most of his sentences with “man.”

“That’s what you dream of. Yeah, to have that reception is amazing. I just love it. I really do.”

Johnston would probably thank every one of the fans if he could.

“I guess I’m just really down to earth, and at the end of the day I’m just a normal guy who happens to play golf,” he said. “I’m no different than anyone else. I’ll talk and chat to anyone.”

A few vignettes with the “Beef”:

He joked on television after Friday’s round that he might have a Caesar salad for dinner.

“Had this one kid screaming, ‘Caesar salad!’ at me for the first six holes [on Saturday]. It was funny.”

He ended up having a pizza on Friday, which he insisted was the 10-inch size.

“It wasn’t that big. It wasn’t like ‘20-inch, win a T-shirt if you finish it’ type of thing.”

He chipped in for birdie on the 13th hole in the third round.

“I walked over and I could see my mom crying, which was even funnier. And that got me going a bit. I was, like, ‘Oh, don’t look at Mom.’”

He didn’t get the nickname “Beef” at the age of 12 because of his eating.

“From the hair on my head. I grow it out, it grows curly. And my mate just went, ‘Look at your hair. It’s like a big bit of beef.’”

He hasn’t always had the beard. He only began to grow it a year ago, and he admitted his girlfriend is growing tired of it.

“She was all, like, ‘Yeah, yeah, I love it.’ And all of a sudden she was, like, ‘Oh, look at it. It’s getting a bit long and this and that.’ And I’m, like, ‘Oh, it’s too late now.’”

McIlroy busts a club

Rory McIlroy doesn’t display a fierce temper often, but he did on the par-five 16th hole when he pushed his second shot to the right and flung his three-wood into the ground. It snapped.

“The club head came loose on it earlier in the week,” McIlroy explained. “I had to get the head reglued. So it was probably partly to do with that and partly the throw as well.”

McIlroy, whose fourth and last major win came in the 2014 PGA, shot his worst score of the week, 73, and dropped into a tie for 18th.