Johnston happy to qualify for Open after & # 039; hard year & # 039;

Andrew Johnston finished 19 years at the Scottish Open at The Renaissance Club in North Berwick

Andrew "Beef" Johnston admitted it was "a difficult year" when he qualified for the Open Championship, which starts on Thursday at Royal Portrush.

The Englishman, 30, played the best lap of his career on Sunday with a 62 to finish in a share of fourth place at the Scottish Open and earned an Open spot.

"I've tried so hard in the past year and come out and shoot a score like that is such a good feeling," he said.

Wiping away tears, the world 221 added, "It was a difficult year so I'm happy."

Johnston won many fans with his distinctive appearance and friendly attitude, he claimed his only European Tour title during the 2016 Spanish Open and finished eighth in The Open that year.

rose to a career-high ranking of 74, but his form left him and he slid to 337th in the rankings after missing the cut in the Irish Open at the start of the month.

Johnston wrote in a European Tour blog about the mental health problems he had encountered after splitting up with his long-term girlfriend, leaving his company with his coach and caddy, and breaking into his flat.

"I could certainly feel that I was not my usual self. I was not quite right," he said.

"I was angry. I was wound up. I thought it was just the wave. I didn't know what was happening. It felt like every week was really tough. I fought. I tried to practice more, more and I didn't know I burned myself out slowly. "

Inspired to try to play golf?

Discover how you can play golf with our special guide.

Johnston is now engaged and his fiancee, Jodie, is expecting their first child. He paid tribute to Jodie and his psychologist Ben Davies.

"You must remember, I am a regular guy from Finchley," Johnston said. "Then I see a poll in America asking fans:" Who are you looking forward to seeing more? "I was above Tiger Woods.

" To get your head around, that is very heavy, and then came the pressure I put on myself to execute. When I returned from the United States, my way of thinking changed without my knowledge.

"I didn't realize the underlying pressure I put on myself to perform, to please thousands of people. I didn't know that that happened until I started working with Ben and he broke it all out."

When asked about the blog, he said: "I have had a great response, some nice comments from players helped.

" I think a lot of the boys have experienced similar things, which is nice to hear in a certain way. You don't want to see anyone or anything, but I'm not the only one.

"It can be tough here, I want to do so well and win tournaments and I think the pressure I attracted myself after 2016 and expectations were far too high instead of just having fun with it . "