Andrew 'Beef' Johnston reveals struggles of transitioning to the PGA Tour – "Nothing was ever good enough"

European golfer Andrew 'Beef' Johnston returned to professional golf this year after missing the last two years. The English golfer had injured his thumb at the beginning of 2022 during a practice in Portugal. He played this year on the DP World Tour.

Johnston has played on various Tours including the PGA Tour since turning professional in 2009. He joined the PGA Tour in 2017 and participated in the Web.com Tour finals.

In an episode of the Life on Tour podcast uploaded on October 15, Johnston talked about his struggles when he moved to the PGA Tour. The 35-year-old said that after his Open de Espana win, he didn't think much about his success or failure and not overthinking was his strong trait until he started playing on the PGA Tour. He said (via DP World Tour on YouTube):

"And I put so much pressure on myself that I had to get better I had to improve and then you start comparing yourself to others which is the most dangerous thing you can do," Johnston said (27:10 onwards).

Further detailing his experiences, he said:

"Even when I played well I thought I was playing bad and it got into this cycle where nothing was ever good enough, and like that happened over a period of a year and a half two years of just sort of beating yourself up rather than not thinking and going 'didn't happen this week, we just go again.'"

He said that the toxic self-criticism created anxiety and led to burnout as he was overwhelmed with expectations, affecting his willingness to participate in tournaments. Johnston further said that his wife Jodie Valencia recognized his struggles and asked him to see a psychologist.

Andrew Johnston played 13 events on the 2017 PGA Tour. In 13 starts, he had one top-10 finish. He had four missed cuts and finished 189th on the FedExCup standings, with official earnings on the PGA Tour in 2017 amounting to $293,233.

Johnston mentioned that the 2017 RBC Heritage at Hilton Head was the moment when he felt he needed to step back for a 'mental reset'. The European golfer scored 68, 71, 70, and 76 in the four rounds of the tournament. He said:

"I've played horrible on the Sunday. And it was one of the moments where just wanted to get out of the golf course as fast as you can get back. And I remember I was in such a rotten mood and I literally just chucked everything in the car," Johnston recalled (at 32:00).

Andrew Johnston said that he drove recklessly and even got into a police confrontation. He said that despite being stopped, he was let go as he managed to explain his frustration to the officer. Johnston lost his PGA Tour card following the 2017 season and returned to the European Tour.

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How did European golfer Andrew Johnston perform in 2024?

Andrew Johnston has had an underwhelming 2024 season. In 15 starts, he made nine cuts. He has one top-10 finish and three top-25 finishes. His top-10 finish came at the Omega European Masters where he finished third.

His other notable performances include a T18 at Betfred British Masters hosted by Sir Nick Faldo and a T23 at D+D REAL Czech Masters. His total official earnings on the DP World Tour this year were €347,574.96. He recently updated his fans that he was feeling soreness in his thumb again and would be missing the rest of the season.

Let's take a look at Andrew Johnston's performances in the 2024 season:

2024 PGA TOUR Tournaments

• ISCO Championship: Missed Cut (68-75, 143, -1)
• Barracuda Championship: Missed Cut (2-7, 9, +9)

2023-24 DP World Tournaments

• Investec SA Open Championship: Missed Cut (77-68, 145, +1)
• Alfred Dunhill Championship: T61 (69-72-78-75, 294, +6)
• AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open: Withdrawn (71-71-71, 213, -3)
• European Open: Missed Cut (76-72, 148, +2)
• KLM Open: Missed Cut (72-73, 145, +3)
• Italian Open: T33 (69-68-70-73, 280, -4)
• BMW International Open: T32 (70-67-73-72, 282, -6)
• D+D REAL Czech Masters: T23 (69-63-70-73, 275, -13)
• Danish Golf Championship: T42 (70-70-69-73, 282, -2)
• Betfred British Masters hosted by Sir Nick Faldo: T18 (72-73-70-69, 284, -4)
• Omega European Masters: 3 (65-67-72-66, 270, -10)
• Amgen Irish Open: Missed Cut (78-74, 152, +10)
• BMW PGA Championship: T40 (73-69-73-66, 281, -7)