After almost two full seasons out of golf with injury, it was understandable that Andrew Johnston got emotional over securing his best DP World Tour finish for over four years at the Omega European Masters.
The man affectionately known as Beef carded a closing 66 at Crans-sur-Sierre Golf Club to end the week a shot out of a play-off and match a third-placed finish last achieved in August 2020 at the Celtic Classic.
It was four years before that that he had the golfing world at his feet, winning the Real Club Valderrama Open de España, hosted by the Sergio Garcia Foundation and shooting to international fame with a top ten at The Open Championship.
His seemingly constant smile, infectious enthusiasm and signature bushy beard brought him an army of fans but so did his candour when addressing his mental health struggles at the height of his fame in a DP World Tour Player Blog.
After losing his PGA TOUR card in his rookie season in 2017, he returned to being a popular and consistent performer on the DP World Tour, finishing comfortably in the top 100 on the Race to Dubai in 2018, 2019 and 2021, with his result in Wales the best finish of the Covid-affected 2020 campaign.
But disaster struck in 2021, with a thumb injury ruling him out of the entire 2022 season and while he played the 2023 Hero Dubai Desert Classic, he would soon require surgery on his thumb and that week at Emirates Golf Club would be his only event for two years.
He was once again candid in speaking about the mental toll that took on him but also about the strength he takes from wife Jodie and young daughter Harley in his darkest moments.
"We're a massive team," he said in Switzerland. "It's not just me, it's everyone else and it's so nice to have everyone."
Playing on a Membership Extension in 2024, he was forced to wiithdraw from the AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open with a back injury and after a pair of missed cuts on his return in June, he dropped out of the top 2,000 on the Official World Golf Ranking.
But with childhood friend Jess McAvoy now back on his bag, Johnston had a run of three made cuts as he arrived in the Swiss Alps and for the first time in a long time, found himself in genuine contention.
He was five shots off the lead held by Matt Wallace after 54 holes but were it not for an agonising 24-footer that straightened at the last moment on the 17th, he would have been in a play-off.
"I hit it and I thought it was breaking dead centre, in probably the last foot or so it's just wiggled right," said Johnston "I don't know how it's missed but it's one of those things.
"I don't ever like to go in with that expectation (of a good week). You have to believe that you can go and have a good week but it's four rounds of golf and anything can happen over four rounds.
"It's just a case of trying to put yourself in a good position come Sunday and the way we battled yesterday in the wind and sort of hung around gave us a chance today and that's all you can do.
"We tried to be really aggressive, we knew we had to try and catch Matt. I'm delighted with the week."
Now, having jumped 69 places to 85th on the Race to Dubai Rankings in Partnership with Rolex, Johnston has alleviated some of the late season pressure and was fighting back tears in his post-round interview.
"There's a lot of relief," he said. "It's been a tough couple of years. It's been tough."
There will be many golfing fans around the world feeling their own sense of relief and hoping that, for Beef, the tough times are a thing of the past.
