ENGLAND'S Andrew Johnston admits he needs to find the right balance between embracing his cult status and producing the kind of golf which initially made him famous.

Johnston hit the headlines in April by winning his first European Tour title in the Spanish Open and admitting he could not wait to get home afterwards to "get hammered" with friends and family.

The 27-year-old Londoner has since become better known by his nickname "Beef" and has exploited being flavour of the month by signing an endorsement deal with fast food chain Arby's.

But the world No 88, who finished eighth in The Open at Royal Troon, insists he wants to remain famous for his exploits on the course rather than his facial hair and popularity with spectators.

"It might come across like that to some people, but as I've said before, it's all about the golf," Johnston said ahead of his US PGA Championship debut at Baltusrol. "First thing's first is the golf. That's what I grew up doing. That's what I grew up watching and where I wanted to be.

"So now I'm here, it's like I want to keep pushing forward and the most important thing is the golf before anything else.

"I want to come away and look back in so many years and think, yeah, that's been a great time on the golf course. And not going, oh yeah, it was good for that period of time, but we had a good laugh."

Johnston was still able to enjoy a laugh with a group of fans who turned up dressed as him on Tuesday, although he was quick to point out their fake ginger beards were the wrong colour.

But he has come to realise that interacting with spectators might have to be limited to when he is not trying to prepare for tournaments.

"I love the support and I love trying to give back my time," he added. "I actually had a big learning curve yesterday where I played a few holes and I was signing so much; I probably shouldn't have done as much on the course and then waited till after.

"It was like the first real time where I've had that much attention and I came off the course and I was like, 'That was crazy. That was mad'.

"It's just a thing of trying to get the right timing to spend time with all the fans, because I love it and it means so much to me. But at the same time, you've got to get your practice in, as well."

Another player hoping to do well this week is Sergio Garcia as he looks to continue the streak of first-time winners and finally rid himself of the tag of "best player not to have won a Major".

World No 1 Jason Day won his first Major title in last year's US PGA Championship and 2016 has also produced maiden Major winners in Danny Willett (Masters), Dustin Johnson (US Open) and Henrik Stenson (Open Championship).

"I would love to make it five in a row," said Garcia. "Obviously it would be very nice but we'll see. It's a long week. My goal is to play well, to give myself another shot at winning a tournament, winning a Major, and then see what I can come up with."

After falling out of contention in the 2012 Masters, Garcia said he felt he was not good enough to win a Major and he has recorded a total of 22 top-10 finishes, including ties for fifth at Oakmont and Royal Troon this season.

"I think that probably the way I look at things now has changed a little bit," the world No 10 added. "Experience and age has definitely made me a little bit calmer out on the course. Before, if I made a couple of bogeys, I would get a little bit angry. Now I seem to take it a little bit easier.

"For example, in the Open Championship, the way I was feeling with my swing and everything, probably 12, 15 years ago I would have struggled to maybe finish in the top 30 or 40. I knew that maybe I wasn't feeling amazing, but I fought hard, waited for my opportunities and thanks to that I finished top five. That obviously encourages me a lot."

Garcia was also encouraged to see the 40-year-old Stenson win his first Major with a record-breaking performance which relegated the 46-year-old Phil Mickelson to second place.

"Henrik, when I saw him on Monday at my event in Switzerland, he said, you know, I'm 40, you're 36, you still have probably 16 more (Majors) before you get there," the Spanish Ryder Cup star added. "So at the end of the day, if you stay healthy, you still can give yourself a lot of chances here and there. Hopefully it will happen. If it doesn't happen, it's not going to change my life. I'm not going to go in a cave and stay there until I die because I didn't win a Major. It's not that serious.

"I'm not going to lie - it would be nice to get at least one. But it's not the end of the world."