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THE 145TH OPEN

July 16, 2016

Andrew Johnston

Troon, South Ayrshire, Scotland

Q. What was the most clever thing that happened out there today that somebody did from the gallery?
ANDREW JOHNSTON: Because I said in an interview with Sky Sports yesterday, they said, "What are you going to eat tonight?" I said, "Caesar salad," and had this one kid screaming, "Caesar salad!" at me for the first six holes. It was funny (laughing).

Q. (Inaudible).
ANDREW JOHNSTON: I don't know, man. I do like it. I just don't tend to choose it (laughing). I don't know, a few months.

Q. (Inaudible).
ANDREW JOHNSTON: What did I have? I had a pizza last night. I had a pizza, yeah.

Q. Will you eat a hamburger tonight?
ANDREW JOHNSTON: I'm not sure what we're going to have, man. We're going to make a team decision and go from there. I'm pretty easy.

Q. What is the chance of Top 10 tomorrow?
ANDREW JOHNSTON: We'll see, man. We'll see. Just going to go out and play and see what happens.

Q. You won in Scotland before?
ANDREW JOHNSTON: Yeah, yeah, that's why I said yesterday, why not? If you come into tournaments, you can't believe you can go and do something, what is the point of playing if you don't believe or trust yourself or back yourself? But as I said, there's a long way to go. There are 18 holes. The guys are quite far ahead. Going to need to play well tomorrow, and we'll just see what happens.

Q. What have you made of the kind of following that's starting to emerge around you as the tournament has gone on?
ANDREW JOHNSTON: Oh, it's been amazing, man. I absolutely love it. You know, that's what it's about. You know, I think like people come, and as I said, a thousand people come and watch it, and if they really enjoy themselves, that's what it's about. You want them to go home with good memories and go, oh, my God. I've had such a great day. That's what it's about.

Q. You pretty much can't shave the beard down, right?
ANDREW JOHNSTON: No, no. My girlfriend's not happy (laughter).

Q. (Inaudible).
ANDREW JOHNSTON: I have no idea. 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. I'm no different to anyone else. That's how I see it. I'll talk and chat to anyone. It really doesn't bother me. I like meeting new people and I don't care where they're from and who they are, if they're nice, I get on well with them and I'm going to make friends.

Q. If you weren't doing this for a living, what would you be doing?
ANDREW JOHNSTON: I have no idea. I love my sports, so I'd love to be doing something in sport, you know, but I wouldn't have a clue.

Q. (Inaudible).
ANDREW JOHNSTON: She was all like, yeah, yeah, I love it, 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.

Q. How long have you been growing it?
ANDREW JOHNSTON: Oh, man, since Portugal Masters last year it's got to be, so October time.

Q. That's about nine months or so?
ANDREW JOHNSTON: Yeah, yeah, I've had a few trim-ups and a shave. I desperately need a haircut and a beard shape-up after this week. I just haven't had time.

Q. You're going to be in the second-to-last group tomorrow, but what will your nerves be like?
ANDREW JOHNSTON: You want to go out and play well, and I think if you don't have nerves, it doesn't mean that much to you, you know? Like that. You've got to embrace those nerves. That's what I mean. That's what I mean by "concentrating". You've got to get sort of outside yourself in that and go, no, no, come on, man, I'm playing well. Just keep doing what you're doing. Concentrate on what you're doing. Yeah, that's how I seem to deal with it.

Q. How did you manage to keep your concentration? Obviously you've got some outside distractions. Do you feed off the crowd?
ANDREW JOHNSTON: Yeah, yeah. Once I'm playing a shot, it's down to business, you know, and then the switch comes back on and then I concentrate. I don't know if you've seen today a few people were shouting out as I was maybe walking up, and viewing the cheer, if I weren't -- I acknowledge that. But once I've hit the shot or I'm walking somewhere I'm going to acknowledge it, man, because I don't need to concentrate in.

Q. Andrew, you've seriously transformed (inaudible), coming up, and maintaining a standard.
ANDREW JOHNSTON: Yeah, it's amazing. I absolutely love it. I know, it was funny, actually. On 13, the chip-in and 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 my God. Don't look at my mom. Please, go over there.

Yeah, but, yeah, yeah. It's great. That's what you dream of. Yeah, to have that reception is amazing. I just love it. I really do.

Q. You say you had a pizza last night all yourself?
ANDREW JOHNSTON: It was like a 10-inch pizza. It wasn't that big. It wasn't like a 20-inch, "Win a T-shirt" if you finish it type of thing (laughter). It wasn't anything like that.

Q. (Inaudible).
ANDREW JOHNSTON: Yeah, but I would have never picked that. The waitress lied to me. She lied. She was like, it's that big, and it comes out and it's massive. And I turned around and I said, "You liar, you liar." And she went, "What?" And I said you said, "It's this big." And she said, "My husband can eat it." And I went, "Challenge accepted," like that.

Q. (Inaudible).
ANDREW JOHNSTON: Maybe, yeah. It could be game time again. I read her a few books last night before I went to bed. I think she was up a bit later than me. So we'll see. We'll see.

Q. It calms you down, I guess?
ANDREW JOHNSTON: It's nice. It's nice having your family there. And my sister lives in the States, so I don't get to see them that much. She's come over for the golf day we've got in August and then she come up before. It was funny, she wanted to come and see me play in France, and then I found out about Bridgestone and going to that, so I went and played there. But lucky enough I got her up to US Open and she's come here, so I think she's had a good deal with that. But it's been really nice.

Q. Where does she live in the States?
ANDREW JOHNSTON: Tampa, Florida.

Q. Officially, how much do you weigh?
ANDREW JOHNSTON: I have no idea. You want to pick me up (laughter). I don't know, man. About 16 stone, I reckon. I don't know. I need to start shed a stone. I'm heavier than (indiscernible).

Q. What are Soft Kitties, the game?
ANDREW JOHNSTON: No, it was Top Trumps, with cats. I don't know what Soft Kitties is. You know how you get the cards and it would have like a tiger, and it would say, aggression 10, cuteness 1, and stuff like that. It has like different numbers on there and you have to pick one and then whatever cards the other person's got and whoever is ever higher basically wins and gets that card and go on to the next. It's just a proper kids game. You're looking confused (laughing).

Q. Was that someone from your family?
ANDREW JOHNSTON: Yeah, yeah, that was my niece. She's been there every day with my mom and my sister. Man, it's funny.

Q. How old is she?
ANDREW JOHNSTON: Five.

Q. What's her name?
ANDREW JOHNSTON: Summer.

Q. (Inaudible).
ANDREW JOHNSTON: Oh, no, very nice, man. Like, yeah, Sergio's a great player. You know, I was expecting him to have like a good following and people shouting and that because he's top class and he's a lovely bloke. He was a pleasure to play with as well. So it was really enjoyable.

Q. When you were growing up, was it always about golf?
ANDREW JOHNSTON: I always played golf as a kid since I was 4. I joined my home course North Middlesex when I was 9, and I always played. I loved playing my football or whatever, really. Tennis, I used to play everything, table tennis and that. But, yeah, golf was always the one I played a bit more. I always enjoyed it as a kid. So things just developed, you know. I played the junior stuff at my home course and then went to my county, Middlesex, and got through to that and played that, and then got put through to sort of like England Boys stuff and just kept enjoying it. I loved the competition. That's what. I'm so competitive. That's what it's about. I love the competition and just competing, man. That's what I love.

Q. (Inaudible).
ANDREW JOHNSTON: Oh, I didn't play last night. Summer won the night before and I read her some books. I didn't want to lose again.

Q. Is there a point (Inaudible).
ANDREW JOHNSTON: Yeah, yeah, exactly.

Q. Was there ever a point where you wondered if you could make it?
ANDREW JOHNSTON: Yeah, of course, you always have your ups and downs. I think it was 2012, end of 2012 and 2013 I struggled. I had a shoulder injury. I think it was 2013, that Christmas, I was struggling, you know. I was sitting there and I was actually down in Portugal practicing, and then for the next year I was sort of wondering, what am I going to do for Christmas about presents and stuff like that? That was a real turning point when I got into Nelson Mandela in South Africa and I managed to get -- I think I finished about 18th there and I actually got some money to buy presents and stuff like that. Yeah, that's it, I didn't have much at all.

That was a real turning point because it was sheer determination that I sort of did well. Then when I looked I thought yeah, I can play, you know and that. So it's another thing just to say keep going, keep digging along and keep trying.

Q. How long have you been known as "Beef"?
ANDREW JOHNSTON: Since I was 12.

Q. How did it come about?
ANDREW JOHNSTON: From my 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," and called me a "Beefhead". That was it. It's been shortened to beef.

Q. Does anyone call you Andrew?
ANDREW JOHNSTON: Only when my mom and girlfriend's angry. When I've done something wrong, it's like, "Andrew, get here." I know I'm in trouble then.

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