Ryan Peake continues redemption tale at Open Championship
West Australian Peake, who spent five years in jail, will tee off at The Open Championship on Thursday night (AEST) as his remarkable redemption tale continues.
"I just want to be able to get on that first tee ... and just play my golf," Peake told reporters in Northern Ireland.
"The result will be what it will be, I don't want to get caught up in anything.
"I just want to play my golf, I just want to be free and do that the best as I can."
Peake was a junior teammate of 2022 Open winner and fellow Australian Cam Smith, but by his admission, he became "burnt out".
"I didn't have anything else that I enjoyed apart from going down, I guess, a non-pro social life," he said.
"That's where my story varies, because lots of other good golfers [who] don't play golf anymore either.
"It just happens to be that I decided to become a bikie and it's a bit different."
Peake was jailed for five years for grievous bodily harm over a 2014 assault.
"That's the life I was living in. There was someone else out there that was living the same sort of lifestyle that was making threats," he said.
"I'm not saying it's right that I've gone and beat someone up."
On release from prison, Peake left his bikie club and returned to golf for his first hit in six years.
Peake won the New Zealand Open last March to secure a spot at Royal Portrush for golf's oldest tournament.
"I'm not trying to be a role model … superhero or anything like that," he said.
"I just like honesty. It's me … it's hard to kick someone that's honest.
"It's my life, it's my story. I'm not essentially embarrassed about it.
"It's something that I've done, I have owned it."
Peake said he felt comfortable in the locker room among golfers he described as "world superstars".
"They probably don't even know who I am, to be honest," he said.
"I just walk past them and you just give your general nods and it's nothing out of the ordinary or anything like that.
"There's no special treatment and there's no neglect from any other players, it's just been quite normal."
AAP
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