IT’S not that cult golfer Andrew “Beef” Johnston has a beef with PETA, he just doesn’t want to change his name to “Tofu”.

And no way was the gift of a few vegan “steak” burgers from the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals’ UK branch going to swing the affable 27-year-old Englishman from ditching one of the sport’s coolest nicknames.

“Beef”, the man with the generous steel-wool beard and one of the toothiest and gummiest smiles in sport, has gained cult status on the tour in the past few months, after he had his first European tour victory and said he was going to celebrate by “getting hammered”.

By the time he’d finished sixth at this year’s British Open, with the cries of “BEEF” ringing out from the crowd every time he lined up at a tee, he’d picked up sponsorship from US food chain Arby’s, famous for its beef and his Twitter handle @BeefGolf was doing plenty of business with its 58,000-plus followers.

So when PETA came calling, “Beef” — much-loved for the fact he’ll chat with any fan and rarely wave away a request for a fan picture or autograph — had to tell them it just wasn’t going to happen, Golf Digest reports.

😂😂😂. It's my name basically so won't change https://t.co/JlatdyrELX — Andrew'BEEF'Johnston (@BeefGolf) August 2, 2016

PETA’s letter asking him to become a vegan said: “Like many others, we’ve been enthusiastically following your career, and we thought we’d send you a gift of delicious vegan steaks and burgers in the hope that you’ll consider adopting a kinder, healthier vegan lifestyle, which would pave the way for a new nickname: Andrew ‘Tofu’ Johnston.”

“Your new nickname would also raise awareness of the urgent need to move towards a cruelty-free lifestyle to offset the worst effects of climate change. According to the United Nations, animal agriculture is “one of the top two or three most significant contributors to the most serious environmental problems, at every scale from local to global.”

“Beef’ has politely revealed that despite the fact he’s partial to a Porterhouse, his nickname is actually about his hair.

As a kid, he was nicknamed “Beefhead” and the “Beef” part stuck.

Rather than tell PETA “tofu off” as one of his fans suggested, he opted for a succinct reply, complete with crying-laughing emoticons: “It’s my name basically, so won’t change”.

And let’s face it, Andrew “Tofu” Johnson hasn’t got the same ring to it.

It might have paid PETA to take a look at Beef’s newest wedge — which is branded with nine different cuts of cow: rib eye, brisket, sirloin, T-bone. Tri-tip, flank, filet mignon, Porterhouse and skirt.