Darwin Escapes sponsored David Carey at St Andrews on Monday

He’s shot 57 on tour — the lowest round ever recorded in a world ranking event —has a faster on-course ball speed than Rory McIlroy and Jon Rahm, drives the ball as far as Bryson DeChambeau and dreams of lifting the Claret Jug.

No, he’s not the newest US golf sensation or a product of the American college system but 26-year old Dubliner David Carey who is not afraid to do things his way as he battles to make all his dreams come true in The 150th Open at St Andrews.

Dressed in a Ben Hogan-style white cap bearing a four-leafed clover and the number 57, Carey qualified in style by winning the Final Qualifier by four shots at Fairmont St Andrews.

He’s unconventional in that he abandoned the amateur set up in Ireland as a successful Boys international to turn pro aged just 18 seven years ago and while he has yet to get off the Alps Tour, he’s convinced his hard work will eventually pay off.

Making it to the biggest golf tournament in the world is just the start.

"I think the only thing I can really fairly expect for myself is to go out there and do my best and try to commit to every shot,” said Carey, who modelled his game on DeChambeau for a while (single-length shafts and fat grips and all) and even managed to play with the Mad Scientist in practice yesterday.

"Beyond that, I don't know. If I commit to every shot, I'll go have a good week because that's one of the hardest things in golf, to pick a line and don't think, 'don't miss it here', 'don't miss it there'.

"That bit I can control. What do I hope for? I hope to have the Claret Jug in my hands on Sunday.

"I'm sure a lot of people will say that but I'm not sure how many really believe that they can.”

- You do?

"Of course. I know I can do it. If I don't do it this year then it will be some year in the future. I mean, Mr Hogan's life story shows that if you put enough work in and you keep trying it can be achieved.”

Carey shot to fleeting worldwide fame on the Alps Tour in 2019 when he opened with an incredible 11-under par 57 en route to victory in the Cervino Open on the Alps Tour in Italy in 2019.

He made 11 birdies at 5,303-metres (5,801 yards), par-68 Cervino Golf Club in the shadow of the Matterhorn close to the Swiss border, just over 2,000 metres above sea level.

While the lowest officially recorded round is a 16-under 55 by Australian Rhein Gibson in 2012 -- three other 55s have been documented but discounted due to the length of the course or other factors -- Carey's 57 is the lowest recorded on a professional tour.

Covid-19 left him twiddling his thumbs for over a year but after missing out on his Challenge Tour card by a single shot last year, he believes he’s only now getting back to the level he displayed in 2019 and this week is just the start.

Obsessed with Hogan, he’s adopted DeChambeau’s scientific approach to the game but tempered the big hitting obsession with a coach he shares with Leona Maguire, Black Bush’s Shane O’Grady, and looks ready to move to the next level after taking a brave route at the start of his career.

“I remember talking to a few different people, my coach at the time (the late Stephen Ennis), people like one of the guys in Ping, everyone said if you want to be a professional golfer and you want to learn how to be a professional golfer then be a professional golfer and you learn as you go as opposed to going to college in America, doing that and then having to transition again,” he said.

Hogan never played at St Andrews but as a huge student of golfing history, Carey knows this is a significant event in the history of the game he’s determined to make the most of it.

David Carey. Picture: Tristan Jones/Alps Tour

“Being the 150th and at St Andrews, that's kind of a very special occasion,” he said. “When you are walking up the 18th and the town and R&A clubhouse, it is just a special place and event. Everything about it, it is kind of unique, the whole experience.

“When you are practising and trying to prepare for things, this is what you are getting ready for. I remember my Dad used always give out because I'd be looking at stats and stuff and I would be comparing my stats to Tiger and he would say you are not playing against Tiger, you don't have to do this or you don't have to do that, you only have to do this much.

“Well, this is what I have been getting ready for. I mean it is more of an excitement. There is a certain amount of pressure but this is what you want to be doing. You want to be on the biggest stage playing in the biggest events.”

He didn’t get to mention his 57 to DeChambeau yesterday but repect was shown by the former US Open champion.

“They have a timesheet,. I looked at the sheet and I was looking to play the back nine in the morning and there was a spot free, it just so happened that's who it was,” Carey said. “His first two questions were, did I qualify? And when I said yes, he said congratulations. And his next question was, have you had any wins? I said, five. Five professional wins. Those were his two main questions and after that we just started talking golf, that seemed good enough for him.”

As for his incredible power, Carey lost nothing to DeChambeau off the tee on Monday and believes he has the game to shoot five-under every day.

“No, we were beside each other,” said the Dubliner (26) who used his GCQuad and measured his ball speed at 186 mph ball on the course yesterday. “I have no doubt if he were playing in the States and it was wider he would open up more but out there he wasn't even hitting many drivers, he was keeping it in play. He was definitely not going as hard. He hit a second ball off 17 that he ramped up a bit more. Other than that, he was 183-190 that was his range.”

While Paul Dunne led the Open here through 54 holes as an amateur in 2015 before crashing to a 78 to finish tied 30th, Carey says that’s not what gives him hope.

“I wouldn't look at it like that,” he said. “I would look at the fact the past three winning scores were 16-under, 15-under, and Tiger won by eight on 19 under in 2000.

“I am looking out there and thinking, can I shoot five-under every day. And I think, yes. If I finish the week on 20 under, you have to feel it's going to have a pretty good chance.

“Depending on the wind, I can easily reach four of the greens and there are two par fives and how many other wedge holes. My goal would be to make no bogeys. That's unrealistic not to make any mistakes. But I am going to make a ton of birdies anyway. I nearly always do. If I can keep the mistakes away, I will have a good chance.”

While the R&A will try to protect the Old Course with tight pins, Carey is not afraid to break 60.

“Well, there are not many other guys who have shot 60. If I get that kind of run with the putting, there is no reason why I can’t,” he said. “I think that's going to be a lot more to do with how they set up the course. Where the put the flag changes it a lot. If there are tucked all the time, there are going to be certain holes where you hit to 30 ft, two-putt and move on. If you keep breaking 70, you are going to be in a good position.”

As for his long journey to try and make it as a pro, he’s not discouraged.

"If you work and work and work and see no reward at all then it could be disheartening, but a little boost like this reminds you you're doing something right,” said Carey who played with another Major winner in Keegan Bradley on Sunday.

"It is interesting to have a look at these guys who have won big events. If you get a rough feeling of how you stack up against them, it's definitely interesting.

"Golf is a long road and it's good to learn from them but ultimately you're here to try to do your best and beat them.”