GOLF has a new cult hero and his name is Andrew Johnston. That may come as a surprise to many. Only his mum and girlfriend still call him Andrew and even then only when they’re angry. To the rest of the world – friends and strangers alike – he is simply Beef, and those at Royal Troon to watch the Englishman play his final round at the Open did not stint in calling it out as he ambled towards every tee box, down every fairway, and around every green. Mostly it was just an elongated scream of “Beeeeeeeeeeef!” although there were a few variants including “’Mon the Beef!” and a rather contrived chant about “Special British Beef” that, mercifully, didn’t catch on. At one point a young lad of no more than six was spotted looking agog at all the commotion before asking his dad whether this was “The Beefburger”. His father nodded in confirmation.

This was Happy Gilmore come to life. The whooping and hollering might not be to the taste of the purists – a few could be spotted shaking their heads at some of the more inane antics - but to the younger, casual golf fan this was all great fun. If the governing bodies are to continue to try to “grow the game” then people like Johnston, who the masses can relate to, are going to be vital. This was only his second ever appearance at the Open but, in the space of a few days, he has gone from a relatively unknown figure to one of the most popular characters around the course. The amount of hands held out to hail him with a fist pump or a high five as he walked from green to tee was an indication of his growing appeal, as was the roar that greeted him from the grandstands as he walked down the 18th fairway to complete a memorable week.

“The reaction from the fans was just incredible, man,” he said. “Speechless. And coming down the 18th, I'll remember it forever. Just crazy, man. Just the noise, and I thought, oh, it stopped and then it carried on. I thought I’d better put my putter back in the air. It was just amazing.”

Johnston has played a large part in that burgeoning clamour himself. A slightly goofy, heavy-set character with an impressively bushy beard, he doesn’t look much like your average professional golfer. And he doesn’t act like one either. If he finds the constant shouts of “Beef!” annoying then he doesn’t ever show it, meeting every one with a grateful thumbs up. When he rolled in a birdie putt at the first hole to move to six under-par, he acknowledged the roar that met it by holding his putter straight up in the air as if it were Excalibur itself. On the third hole one man, so eager to rush to the boundary rope to witness Johnston in action, failed to notice his young toddler climbing up then tumbling out of his buggy. Mercifully the young lad wasn’t injured as his rather chastened father regained his bearings and, somewhat ashen-faced, scooped his offspring up off the turf. Johnston hopes he can continue to have that effect on people.

“All players are different,” he said. “Some of them like to be quiet on the course. I just want to be myself, go out and enjoy it and acknowledge the crowds. People pick up on it how they want. Some kids will go, "Oh, I really like him. I really like him," and stuff like that. As long as I can sort of affect people in a positive way, you know with people saying "Oh, I want to come out and play golf." I've had so many nice messages on Twitter saying like, "Oh, we loved you." "My wife's gotten into golf. My boy's love it," and stuff like that. I think that's the most important thing.”

Those who hack their way around their local course every weekend would probably not consider it a form of relaxation but Johnston hoped his attitude might rub off on those trying to get into the game. “Just have fun, man. Just play with your mates, do what you want to do. You see it at my golf club. People want to play and practise and get their handicaps down. Others have had a hard week at work and they want to go out and have a few beers and stuff on the course. And I don't think that's a bad thing either. As long as everyone's kind of playing and having fun in their own way I think that's what you've got to do.”

The 27 year-old from Barnet – winner of the Spanish Open a few months ago – can play a bit better than most. Starting the day in fourth place, albeit some way behind the leaders, three birdies in his opening four holes had him temporarily up to third. It would unravel, however, a bit on the back nine as bogeys on the 10th, 12th and 15th led to his first over-par round of the week. An eighth-place finish, however, was still deserved reward for all his endeavours. That will probably earn him a spot at next week’s USPGA but he had more pressing matters in mind last night. “I have no idea what we’re having for dinner. But I'll definitely be having a beer.” He more than deserved it.