Not long ago Andrew 'Beef' Johnston appeared to be heading towards professional golf stardom.
In April of 2016, Johnston won at Valderrama, finished T7 at Wentworth and a few months later found himself in contention at the British Open at Royal Troon. He shot 73 on Sunday and fell out of the race, but the future felt bright for the Englishman.
Since then, Beef has struggled with both physical and mental health, and has just hit another major setback, by no fault of his own.
While speaking with Todays Golfer, the now 36-year-old shared that a misdiagnosis at the end of last season kept him out for three months after a previous hand injury began to bother him again.
“The scan immediately showed a complete ligament tear,” Johnston said. “Then I got the full report back and it also showed a partial tear in another two tendons in my thumb. At that stage I was just done.”
Previously, Johnston was told there was no serious damage to his hand, and that platelet-rich plasma injections (PRP) would do the trick.
“If I drag PRP out for too long, then I won’t be ready for the start of next season in November,” he said.
“All of a sudden that realization kicks in that I’m facing missing another full season.”
His interview continued.
“Are you f------ kidding me? I wasted three months at the end of last season being misdiagnosed. I was so pissed off with that. So angry. I had kept asking, ‘Do I need an MRI?’, and everyone was just telling me it wasn’t needed as it was looking alright on the ultrasounds.
“So basically, I lost from the start of October until the start of January being told the wrong thing. If I’d found out at the start of that time, I could have had surgery and be back playing by now. It gets to me when I think about that, because now I’m looking at next season if these injections don’t go well.
“It’s just a kick in the nuts.”
After a promising 2024 campaign that included a third-place finish at the Omega European Masters in September, Johnston's career seems to be at a crossroads.
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Misdiagnosis May Cost Andrew 'Beef' Johnston 2025 Season.
