Ryan Peake: Meet the golfer who's gone from being a gang member to the Open Championship
Peake didn't always live a life of crime. He was a promising young golfer after beginning lessons at 10 in the Lakelands Country Club just outside of his hometown of Perth, Australia.
He embarked on a promising amateur career where he qualified for the Australian Open and tied for 10th at the PGA Tour of Australia's WA Open at just 17-years old. He also represented Australia in his youth, teaming up with long-time friend and 2022 Open winner Cameron Smith. Ryan Peake of Australia looks on during day 3 of the 2025 New Zealand Open. Pic:Two years later he turned pro but failed to win full tour membership at the PGA Tour of Australia Qualifying school. Battling through depression at the time Peake decided to step away from Golf entirely.
He took up plenty of jobs to pay the bills, including working down the mines, plastering, brick laying and mixing cement. Around this time he would begin to drink heavily and gained a lot of weight, ballooning to over 135kg at one point. Ryan Peake of Australia plays a shot through the trees. Pic:It was also around this time when Peake would become part of the Rebels Motorcycle Club, a bike gang and was a full member at age 21. He would then be arrested soon after becoming a member following an incident where the gang got into a fight with a rival and left the victim with a fractured skull.
Peake was sentenced to 7 years in prison for two counts of grievous bodily harm. While in prison he would lose weight and get back into golf, giving other inmates some tips.
While in prison, Peake would be contacted his old coach Ritchie Smith about possibly making a return to professional golf upon release. That release came in May 2019 and soon after Peake began working as a greenkeeper at Lakelands Country Club while trying to restart his pro career. Ryan Peake of Australia walks of the green. Pic:He would turn pro again in 2022 and worked his way up to full status for the PGA Tour of Australia for the 2024/25 season before he accomplished his biggest achievement in March of this year.
Peake would win his biggest tournament of his career when we shot a final round 66 to win the New Zealand Open in Queenstown. It was a remarkable week for Peake, who had trouble getting into New Zealand due to visa issues around his criminal past. Ryan Peake of Australia talks with his caddie on the first tee during a practice round. Pic:He would only land in New Zealand 36 hours before the tournament began and he would finish it with a NZ $302,000 jackpot and a spot at The Open Championship, the first time he'll play at a major.
He's now ready to take part of the star-studded field. He's grouped up with all-time great Phil Mickelson and South Africa's Daniel van Tonder for the first two rounds and if he makes the cut, he'll be in for a nice pay day in the tens of thousands. Not too bad for someone who was in prison just over six years ago.
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Extra.ie
11 hours ago
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Ryan Peake: Meet the golfer who's gone from being a gang member to the Open Championship
After six years The Open Championship returns to Royal Portrush. It doesn't feel that long ago that Shane Lowry was crying walking down the 18th. At that time Ryan Peake was about to get his life back together again after serving five years in prison. Now the two of them will be competing at the same tournament this week. Peake didn't always live a life of crime. He was a promising young golfer after beginning lessons at 10 in the Lakelands Country Club just outside of his hometown of Perth, Australia. He embarked on a promising amateur career where he qualified for the Australian Open and tied for 10th at the PGA Tour of Australia's WA Open at just 17-years old. He also represented Australia in his youth, teaming up with long-time friend and 2022 Open winner Cameron Smith. Ryan Peake of Australia looks on during day 3 of the 2025 New Zealand Open. Pic:Two years later he turned pro but failed to win full tour membership at the PGA Tour of Australia Qualifying school. Battling through depression at the time Peake decided to step away from Golf entirely. He took up plenty of jobs to pay the bills, including working down the mines, plastering, brick laying and mixing cement. Around this time he would begin to drink heavily and gained a lot of weight, ballooning to over 135kg at one point. Ryan Peake of Australia plays a shot through the trees. Pic:It was also around this time when Peake would become part of the Rebels Motorcycle Club, a bike gang and was a full member at age 21. He would then be arrested soon after becoming a member following an incident where the gang got into a fight with a rival and left the victim with a fractured skull. Peake was sentenced to 7 years in prison for two counts of grievous bodily harm. While in prison he would lose weight and get back into golf, giving other inmates some tips. While in prison, Peake would be contacted his old coach Ritchie Smith about possibly making a return to professional golf upon release. That release came in May 2019 and soon after Peake began working as a greenkeeper at Lakelands Country Club while trying to restart his pro career. Ryan Peake of Australia walks of the green. Pic:He would turn pro again in 2022 and worked his way up to full status for the PGA Tour of Australia for the 2024/25 season before he accomplished his biggest achievement in March of this year. Peake would win his biggest tournament of his career when we shot a final round 66 to win the New Zealand Open in Queenstown. It was a remarkable week for Peake, who had trouble getting into New Zealand due to visa issues around his criminal past. Ryan Peake of Australia talks with his caddie on the first tee during a practice round. Pic:He would only land in New Zealand 36 hours before the tournament began and he would finish it with a NZ $302,000 jackpot and a spot at The Open Championship, the first time he'll play at a major. He's now ready to take part of the star-studded field. He's grouped up with all-time great Phil Mickelson and South Africa's Daniel van Tonder for the first two rounds and if he makes the cut, he'll be in for a nice pay day in the tens of thousands. Not too bad for someone who was in prison just over six years ago.
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RYAN PEAKE was just completing a five-year jail sentence for a brutal assault the last time The Open was played at Portrush. Now, incredibly, the 11 Ryan Peake will be playing at The Open at Portrush Credit: Getty 11 He won the New Zealand Open back in March Credit: Getty 11 He was previously a member of a biker gang Credit: Instagram @ryanpeakegolf 11 He was jailed in 2014 after attacking a rival gangster Credit: Instagram @ryanpeakegolf Peake, 31, was jailed at the end of 2014 after an attack on a rival gangster that left the victim with a fractured skull and two broken arms. Then just 19, the Australian was joined by at least two other men from Perth-based biker club The Rebels in the assault. He has always refused to reveal who else was involved and was the only one charged with the crime. One of them was armed with a baseball bat - with Peake saying that was because they had been warned their target was armed - and had been making threats towards The Rebels. READ MORE ON GOLF Speaking yesterday at 'So we just went to deal with it and honestly it wasn't meant to happen like that. 'We were genuinely just going there for a chat, he was probably going to get a couple of punches along the way, and it would have been left at that. 'That sounds harsh, but this person lived the same lifestyle as us. The only way you can get through is to speak that language. Most read in Golf 'It just happened to be that the threats that he made towards us were true, and he was armed. It escalated from there. That's it 'I'm not saying it's right that I've gone and beat someone up. But I haven't gone and beat up your dad.' Two rushed to hospital after golf course fireworks display goes terrifyingly wrong near Taylor Swift's Cape Cod home Peake delivered the first kick and The Rebels rained blows on their victim. A few weeks later, three unmarked police cars turned up in the car park of the Lakelands Golf Club - where Peake helped out his greenkeeper dad - to arrest him. He was already a professional golfer by then. But after a stellar amateur career - where he represented Australia in junior tournaments alongside 11 Peake has turned his life around since being behind bars Credit: Instagram @ryanpeakegolf 11 He gave golf another go after serving his time Credit: Instagram @ryanpeakegolf 11 His win in New Zealand landed him a spot at The Open Credit: Getty 11 Peake grew up playing alongside 2022 Open champ Cameron Smith Credit: Getty And despite admitting he found prison life tough, he shows little signs of remorse for the crime that led to him being locked up. He added: 'Jail was bad, real bad. 'Strip naked, take a shower in front of the guards and then you're crammed into a tiny box with two other guys. 'When they turned out the light that first night I thought to myself 'What the hell have you gotten yourself into?' 'But if you don't like the accommodation, don't make the reservation. 'Look, I did something bad, I've owned it and tried to move on. 'I've turned my life around, but I don't want to be looked at as some kind of role model or superhero. I just want to look to the future rather than the past. 'But I don't hide away from my past. It happened and the best thing I can do is to be honest about it. Strip naked, take a shower in front of the guards and then you're crammed into a tiny box with two other guys. Ryan Peake 'If people want to know how it happened, I try to give them an insight into what my life was like back then.' When Peake was coming to the end of his jail sentence he was contacted by his former coach Ritchie Smith, who asked him if he wanted to give golf another shot. Smith, who has guided Minjee Lee to three Major titles and also coaches her younger brother PGA Tour winner Min Woo Lee, describes Peake as 'a real talent'. He said: 'I had lost touch with Peakey after he left golf and didn't know what happened to him. That's not the person I knew. 'I called because I was genuinely worried about him. He's a good kid. He just f***ed up.' Even without his criminal record, Peake would not resemble the average golfer. He is heavily muscled and even more heavily tattooed. But he showed he could still hit a ball by striping it on the range in front of Smith, and then shot 66 in his first round back at Lakelands. After working his way through the mini tours, he hit the jackpot in March, winning the New Zealand Open - a victory that earned him a place in The Open line-up. 11 He must get special permission to travel outside Australia Credit: Getty 11 He described his New Zealand Open win as 'life-changing' Credit: Getty 11 The 153rd Open Championship will take place at Royal Portrush Credit: Getty He also proposed to his girlfriend that week on a helicopter ride around Queenstown - she said yes - so it is a week he will never forget. Travelling abroad can be difficult for ex-convicts. But flying to Northern Ireland to join pals Smith and Lee at Portrush presented no problems for Peake, because he holds a British passpost. He added: 'I've got that passport because my dad was born in England and his family moved to Australia when he was about three. 'I don't know which part of England, but he's still got family there and my parents have been catching up with some aunts and uncles and whatnot before they fly from London over here. 'My record does cause some problems, and we have to jump through a few more hoops than most people when it comes to getting visas. 'My manager is three for three so far, and hopefully he'll keep up that strike rate. 'But just because I'm in The Open, it doesn't mean I feel I've made it now. 'I'm not there yet, not where I want to be. The first goal this week is to make the cut, play my game and see where it takes me. 'That applies to the future too. I've got my card to play over here on the DP World Tour by finishing second on the money list back home, and now I just want people to accept me for who I am.'
