ANDREW 'BEEF' JOHNSTON basked in the glory of a standing ovation on the 18th at Troon - then revealed someone kept shouting 'Caesar salad' at him.

The Englishman is the leading home hope at the Open on five under par and relishing being the firm fan favourite.

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He will be in the penultimate group tomorrow with a legitimate chance at taking down leader Henrik Stenson and Phil Mickelson.

But the Beef nickname gave way to a new calling at the start of his third round.

Johnston said: "I was asked in an interview what I was having for dinner last night and said, 'Caesar salad'.

"I had this one geezer screaming 'Caesar salad' at me for the first six holes! It was funny.

"I do like Caesar salad, I just don't tend to choose it. It's got to be around a few months since I last had one.

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"I had pizza last night. It was like a 10-inch pizza. It wasn't that big. It wasn't like a 20-inch, "Win a T-shirt" if you finish it type of thing."

Johnston- who reckons he weighs around 16stone - believes he can topple the heavyweights at the top of the leaderboard.

And his charge through the field has grabbed the attention of everyone, including emotional mum Jackie.

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Beef said: "On 13, I chipped in and I walked over and I could see my mum crying, which was even funnier.

"That got me going a bit. I was like, 'Oh my god. Don't look at my mom. Please, go over there!'

"But it's been great and this what you dream of. To have that reception is amazing. I just love it. I really do."