NZ Open Champ Peake Now Hoping Criminal Past Will Not Affect Asian Tour & Royal Portrush Tee Times

8 months ago by Comments Off on NZ Open Champ Peake Now Hoping Criminal Past Will Not Affect Asian Tour & Royal Portrush Tee Times

Newly-crowned New Zealand Open champion Ryan Peake will be hoping his criminal past will not seriously affect the excitement a new career path.

The 31-year-old Aussie stormed home to capture the 104th hosting of the New Zealand Open trophy thanks to a bogey-free final round 66 to win by a shot at 23-under at the stunning Millford Sound Resort course outside of Queenstown on New Zealand’s South Island.

Peake was soaked in champers by his good friends and in what now is a remarkable story after having played amateur golf alongside Cam Smith he joined the outlawed Rebels motor-cycle group but then in 2014, and at age 21-years, he convicted of assault and served five years in an Australian prison before his release in 2021.

The Australian played amateur golf alongside Cam Smith but was sentenced to 5 years inside for serious assault at just 21 years old in 2014.

Little wonder the heavily tattooed Peake held back tears as he admitted a focus on golf has turned his life around and this due, in many ways to his fellow Perth-based coach Ritchie Smith reached out to Peake, who was a pretty decent golfer in his teenage years.  Smith also coaches Elvis Smylie along with Min Woo Lee and his sister, Minji.

“Yeah, I’m pretty lost for words at the moment, life-changing,” he said to the media.

“It’s one hell of a story, one hell of a moment. Just belief. I always knew I could do it, it was just a matter of time when I was going to do it.

“This is what I do now. I want to be here and just play golf. The story is what it is, but I’m just out here playing golf.”

Peake nearly didn’t contest the tournament, having been initially delayed from entering in New Zealand by immigration officials because of his conviction for a serious assault as a 21-year-old.

He was sentenced to five years in prison, the culmination of what he has admitted were a series of bad decisions that resulted in him joining an outlawed motorcycle gang, the Rebels.

The conviction means he needs dispensation to travel to tournaments outside Australia with Peake only just managing to get approval to travel to New Zealand, arriving Tuesday night of the tournament and managing to get in just one practice round.

To his enormous credit, the left-handed Peake put that aside posting three rounds scores of 67 and a pair of 64s.

Peake teed-up on day four lying second at 18-under and four adrift of South Korean Gunteak Kon and it was not till a 17th hole birdie lifted Peake out of a four-way tie on 22-under before seven-foot putt for par at the last sealed victory, a stroke clear of compatriot Jack Thompson, South African Ian Snyman and Japan’s Kazuki Higa.

A rookie on the Australasian Tour, Peake earned a winner’s cheque of $201,600 while he’s now has a shot of winning the 2024/25 Australian Tour No. 1 title with Smylie leading the title chase,

In his bigger career picture Ryan earned a virtual three-year exemption on the Asian Tour till the end of 2027 while there is also the reward of a Royal Portrush tee-time in July’s 153rd Open Championship.

As well, the current lowly World No. 1,215th ranked Aussie golfer will jump some 787 places to be the new World No. 428th ranked golfer when the World Rankings are adjusted tomorrow morning (Monday March 3rd).

However, it remains unsure at this early stage whether Peake can travel to Asian Tour destinations and also the United Kingdom in July.

Anyway, well done Ryan and also to Ritchie.



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