The French might enjoy fondly dismissing their neighbours across the Channel as ‘les rosbifs’ but two years ago it was the ultimate English Beef who triumphed at Le Vaudreuil Golf Challenge.
Andrew Johnston – now known to millions of global golf fans for his amiable demeanour, bushily bearded smile and his nickname ‘Beef’ – took victory at Golf PGA France de Vaudreuil on his way to topping the 2014 Challenge Tour Rankings.
The then-25 year old claimed a four shot win ahead of Clément Sordet – now a two-time Challenge Tour winner but at that stage just an amateur – for a second win of the season following success at the Scottish Hydro Challenge.
Having retained his European Tour card last season – and made a memorable hole-in-one at the BMW PGA Championship – Johnston has taken his game, and his profile, to even higher levels in 2016.
First came his popular maiden European Tour win at the Real Club Valderrama Open de España, Hosted by the Sergio Garcia Foundation in April, just holding off the challenge of Joost Luiten on the final day to take a one-shot victory.
A first visit to America came next after Johnston qualified for the US Open Championship at Oakmont, his approach and style earning him many fans on the other side of the Atlantic.
And then last week saw Beef’s best performance in a Major Championship to date as he took eighth place in the Open Championship at Royal Troon – won, of course, by another former Challenge Tour Rankings winner in Henrik Stenson.
Oh my days the amount of messages. It's amazing. Thank u so much 😍😍
— Andrew 'Beef' Johnston (@BeefGolf) July 16, 2016
Johnston was one of nine players at Troon to have previously played not only on the Challenge Tour, but also in Le Vaudreuil Golf Challenge, along with Tyrrell Hatton from 2013, Byeong Hun An, Matthew Fitzpatrick and Lasse Jensen from 2014, James Heath from 2013 and 2015, Sordet and Brandon Stone from 2014 and 2015, and Haydn Porteous from 2015.
This result allowed Johnston to climb into the top 25 in both the European Points List and the World Points List as he makes a late charge for a Ryder Cup spot, with just six weeks until Darren Clarke’s Team Europe is finalised.
With his evident popularity both on the course and in the galleries, Beef would appear an ideal asset to the unique strains of golf’s greatest team event, and would continue a fine recent record of Challenge Tour graduates in the biennial contest, with seven of the victorious 2014 team having spent the early stages of their careers on Europe’s top developmental tour.
