The Convicted Ex-bike Gang Member Playing At The Open

Media opportunities pinch golfers do not mostly screen gangs and prisons, but Ryan Peake's way to his awesome title debut has been thing but normal.

In fact, erstwhile Royal Portrush past staged The Open successful 2019, Peake had conscionable completed a five-year condemnation for superior battle astatine Hakea Prison successful Western Australia.

A talented inferior golfer who turned master aged 19, a "burnt out" Peake drifted distant from nan crippled and joined nan Rebels, an outlawed motorcycle gang, erstwhile he was 21.

How does a promising young golfer from Perth go a "bikie"?

"I was conscionable normalised to it," said nan 31-year-old, who won nan New Zealand Open to suffice for The Open astatine Royal Portrush.

"It wasn't abnormal from wherever I was from to bent retired successful that benignant of segment pinch my friends.

"It's thing that I did find emotion successful and I did bask it. I was willing successful it and I conscionable recovered thing location that I felt for illustration I hadn't recovered anyplace else."

For Peake - who began playing play aged 10 - being a "bikie" was for illustration having a "hobby that you unrecorded and respire arsenic well".

However, aligning himself pinch that manner yet landed him successful jailhouse for his portion successful assaulting a rival pack personnel who, successful his words, was making "threats towards us".

"We conscionable went to woody pinch it, and honestly, it wasn't meant to hap for illustration that," Peake recalled.

"We were mostly conscionable going location for a chat and he was astir apt going to get a mates of punches on nan measurement and it was near astatine that.

"It conscionable happened to beryllium that nan threats he threatened america pinch were true. He was equipped and it escalated from there."

Having played successful nan aforesaid Australian inferior play teams arsenic early Open champion Cameron Smith, adjusting to "appalling conditions" successful a maximum information correctional installation represented a melodramatic downfall.

But while inside, he began nan process of rehabilitation.

"I wanted to execute amended things successful my life arsenic acold arsenic I was ne'er going to profit from being a bikie, and I didn't profit from being a bikie," said Peake.

"I enjoyed nan manner while I was surviving it, but it wasn't going to get maine up successful life, and I was conscionable ever going to autumn further and further down and astir apt lead to much jail.

"But I've had awesome support networks that person ever helped me. And this clip I took nan proposal that they were giving maine and followed nan way they were trying to pave for me."

'They' see Ritchie Smith, nan knowledgeable Australian coach who contacted Peake while he was successful prison.

Smith, whose students Min Woo Lee and Elvis Smylie are besides competing successful Northern Ireland this week, believed location was a measurement backmost to play for Peake.

"I evidently didn't judge it astatine nan start, but for illustration he says, he did," explained nan heavy tattooed left-hander.

"And, you know, for illustration I said earlier arsenic well, he coaches awesome winners. He coaches nan world's best. He's not going to dedicate his clip successful thing that he doesn't judge successful himself, truthful that's what sewage maine believing it would happen.

"I gave it a go. I astir apt didn't deliberation it was going to precisely get to wherever it's sewage to now, and we're trying to advancement further obviously, but it was decidedly a stepping stone, and it came from there."

Having regained pro position successful 2022, nan astir important infinitesimal of Peake's profession arrived successful Queenstown successful early March, wherever he holed an eight-foot par putt connected nan past to triumph nan New Zealand Open by a shot.

His communicative has people attracted interest, and while Peake could person chosen not to talk his past, he says he "just likes honesty".

"It's me. I conjecture I sewage retired of nan [motorcycle] nine from being honorable arsenic well," he added. "It's difficult to footwear personification that's honest, yeah?

"And it's conscionable my position and it's my life, it's my story. I'm not fundamentally embarrassed astir it. It's thing that I've done. I've owned it."

Peake's British passport - his begetter was calved successful England - helped pinch his introduction to nan United Kingdom, wherever he finds himself competing for golf's oldest championship.

He will play nan first 2 rounds alongside six-time awesome victor Phil Mickelson - teeing disconnected astatine 07:19 BST successful information 1 connected Thursday - and has already secured DP World Tour rank for 2026 aft finishing 2nd connected nan Australasian Tour Order of Merit.

It is each a acold outcry from his incarceration, but Peake doesn't look overly willing successful soaking up adulation for turning his life around.

"I'm not trying to beryllium a domiciled model, beryllium someone's superhero, thing for illustration that," he said.

"I'm conscionable fundamentally surviving nan champion life I can, and immoderate group spot from that, that's what they see."

Now that he is here, what does he expect from himself this week?

"Obviously, I want to make nan cut. My expectations are fundamentally I conscionable want to beryllium capable to get connected that first tee and consciousness myself and conscionable play my golf," he said.

"Feel comfortable, conscionable play my crippled and beryllium wrong myself and nan consequence will beryllium what it will be. I don't want to get caught up successful anything, I conscionable want to play my golf, I conscionable want to beryllium free.

"If I tin do that, I won't person to interest astir nan consequence - it'll speak for itself."