Meet the ex-gang member who went from prison to the 2025 British Open
The New Zealand Open champion doesn't typically garner a lot of attention when The Open Championship rolls around. As an automatic qualifier event, the tournament is prestigious, but doesn't normally draw the deepest field.
When this year's champion, Ryan Peake, tees off at Royal Portrush on Thursday, he'll have just about everyone on the grounds rooting for his success. The 32-year-old former gang member who spent five years in prison is an incredible story of resilience and rehabilitation.
Here's everything you need to know about the native of Perth, Australia making his major tournament debut at one of golf's most hallowed grounds.
Why was Ryan Peake in prison?
Yeah, let's start with the elephant in the clubhouse.
At 21 years old, and a member of a motorcycle gang known as the Rebels, Peake was sentenced for assault. Here's what happened, per Golf Digest:
Peake alleges that a person in his neighborhood made a threat to the Rebels. Peake and his friends were at a barbecue when they heard the man was home. 'I will be honest with you, mate, we went over to have a conversation, to let him know if he didn't knock it off, he was going to get punches to the head. That sounds harsh, but this person lived the same lifestyle as us, and the only way you can get through is to speak that language.' Peake and his associates approached the man's residence when suddenly the garage door ascended. According to Peake, the man reached for a 'brown object' tucked into his waistband. Peake delivered a preemptive kick, after which his companions joined the assault, one wielding a baseball bat. The confrontation resulted in multiple severe injuries to the man, including fractures to both arms and skull. (The victim did not respond to interview attempts made by Golf Digest, and his name is redacted from the public record for this case.)
He initially began his sentence at the notorious maximum-security Hakea Prison in 2014, then was transferred to medium-security Acacia Prison before eventually getting to serve his final year at minimum-security Wooroloo Prison Farm.
Peake was an amateur golf star before prison
At one point, Peake was friends and teammates with Cameron Smith on the Australia junior team. He played in the Australia Open as a 17-year-old and finished 10th at the PGA Tour Australia's WA Open at 18 years old. He turned pro a year later in 2012.
But he was struggling with his mental health and increasingly began to burn out.
When it seemed like his time in golf was over, Peake worked various manual labor jobs before falling in with the Rebels.
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He's coached by Ritchie Smith
Best known for helping turn Minjee Lee — the older sister of PGA Tour star Min Woo Lee — into a three-time LPGA major winner, Smith has worked with Peake since he was an up-and-coming youth star. The two connected again while Peake was in prison and the coach wanted to help his old pupil make another run.
But Peake had to get out of gang life first. Golf Digest details how he was able to do so while in prison:
[Peake] requested a formal meeting with Rebels leadership inside the prison. 'I said, 'I know this sounds stupid, but this coach teaches some of the top-ranked golfers in the world, and he thinks I can still make it as a professional. I want to take this path.' I was worried because I didn't want them to think I was disloyal, but I felt like I owed it to all the people around me, and myself, to try.'
To his surprise, he never received so many handshakes and hugs in one sitting. His youth might have had something to do with it, or maybe the Rebels saw what Ritchie saw. 'It's a tough life, being a bikie,' Peake says. 'I think they saw an opportunity for one of their own to better themselves. They were all telling me this could be my last chance. Go earn it.'
Six years after he last played a round, Peake was allowed to work on his game in a prison-release program that allowed him to spend up to 12 hours outside the facilities under supervision.
Peake won a club event while still in prison
Three months into his release program, Peake won a club tournament by shooting a bogey-free round of 66. He gave a quick speech before going back to prison for the night. Peake credits this moment with fully reigniting his motivation.
A Long-shot at The Open
Peake has 1000-1 odds this week at The Open — tied for the second-longest on the board at BetMGM. It sure feels like he's already beaten those odds once before just by getting to this point.
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