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The Herald Scotland
7 days ago
- Sport
- The Herald Scotland
Former prisoner aiming to write next chapter of redemption at The Open
That first ever professional victory, on his Asian Tour debut, took place a little over 10 years after a conviction and five-year jail sentence for assault aged just 21. A promising youth golfer, Peake had lost his way and became a member of a notorious motorcycle gang in Australia. Now 31, Peake warmed up for his big date in Northern Ireland with a T33 finish behind ultimate champion Scott Vincent at International Series Morocco, the fourth of 10 elevated Asian Tour events that offer a pathway onto the LIV Golf League. Things could have been even better too – Peake sat T12 following a five-under third round of 68. It's a remarkable recovery, from the lows of incarceration to the highs of elite competitive golf against some of the world's best. It is one that may not have happened at all had Peake not been contacted by former coach Ritchie Smith while in jail. Smith, who works with fellow Australians such as PGA Tour winner Min Woo Lee and sister Minjee Lee, a three-time major champion among others, wrote to Peake while in prison to offer words of encouragement for a player he had worked with as a 17-year-old. Peake responded with an apologetic letter of his own, and from that point on, his future changed. Peake explained: 'For someone of his calibre to reach out to someone like me and pretty much drag me out of the trenches, you know, it doesn't speak volumes on me, it speaks volumes on him.' 'There was obviously a lot of changes that we had to make, there were vigorous programmes set out. It was up to about a five-year plan, and, yes, he believed we could do it. He pretty much worked out the mapping and the planning of what we were going to do, and I just stuck with it.' Peake admits the mental aspect was the more challenging as he plotted his climb back to the top following his eventual release in 2019. It took a number of years and a lot of sacrifices and graft before he earned full playing privileges on the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia for the 2024-2025 season, and that life-changing victory in New Zealand. He said: 'I had already got pretty fit in there, so it was more just mental - basically going from not having any real aspirations in life to then trying to basically tell yourself, while still in prison, that you are going to become a professional golfer. You know there's a bit of mental work to get there.' 'Your team can only push you so far and tell you so much, and the rest of it, you have to start to believe in it yourself. It did take me some time, but I got there in the end!' The left-hander was full of praise for the opportunities being offered by the Asian Tour and The International Series. He said: 'At the moment, I'm fresh out here on the Asian Tour.' 'Events like these (International Series Morocco) attract high profile names. You are on the Asian Tour, which is a great tour, but then when you have major champions playing as well, and the elevated prize purses, it just gives it that added significance. These 10 events are growing the Asian Tour massively.' 'I'm out here trying to play the best golf that I can, and whatever those pathways provide me, the more the merrier. Definitely, I'm chasing every single pathway that there is.' Looking ahead to his chances in Northern Ireland this week, he added: 'A lot of this stuff wasn't on the programme. But, you know, obviously I am excited to play. I don't think I really know how big it is, to be honest, but obviously once I get there and sort of have a bit of a look around, it'll probably hit me a little bit more.' Teeing it up alongside Peake are three players from the LIV Golf League who earned their places via the Open Qualifying Series at International Series Macau presented by Wynn. Macau champion Carlos Ortiz, the Torque GC player, is joined by 2018 Masters champion and 4Aces GC star Patrick Reed plus Jason Kokrak of Smash GC for the tournament which gets underway on Thursday. Building on his victory in Macau, Ortiz has continued to impress with a T4 finish at the U.S. Open and three top-10 performances in Miami, Korea, and Virginia. Reed has also been in red-hot form since then, placing third at this year's Masters and securing a win at LIV Golf Dallas. Kokrak, meanwhile, recently posted a solid T10 finish in Andalucía ahead of the final Major of the year.
USA Today
15-07-2025
- USA Today
Meet the ex-gang member who went from prison to the 2025 British Open
A post shared by Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia (@pgatouraus) 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. A post shared by Asian Tour (@asiantour) 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.
The Advertiser
01-07-2025
- Sport
- The Advertiser
Elvis in the building: Smylie to defend Aust PGA crown
Emerging star Elvis Smylie has locked in the defence of his Australian PGA Championship crown in year's championship, co-sanctioned by the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia and DP World Tour, will again be hosted by Royal Queensland Golf Club from November 23-year-old from the Gold Coast provided one of the major highlights of last season's summer of golf when he held off three-time champion Cameron Smith to win the Joe Kirkwood Cup for the first propelled Smylie onto the world stage by earning him status as a fulltime member of the DP World Tour and he went on to claim the 2024-25 Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit title. "Winning the Joe Kirkwood Cup for the first time was a huge honour and definitely the highlight of my career so far," Smylie said on Tuesday."I have some great memories of that final Sunday. It meant so much to win at home in front of my family and friends in one of Australia's most important championships."Although there's still a lot of this year to play out, I can't wait to get back to RQ and try to do it all again."Smylie's rise has continued this year, with the Queenslander making the cut on debut at the PGA Championship, his first American major. He will also contest this month's British Open at Royal Portrush. Smith, meanwhile, has announced that his LIV Golf Ripper GC team have forged a new partnership with Golf Australia's MyGolf Junior Participation program. The program has hit new heights in the past 12 months, with a record-breaking number of children involved in the sport. "Ripper GC's Cam Smith, Marc Leishman, Lucas Herbert and Matt Jones are passionate about creating opportunities for boys and girls to play and love golf," said GA boss James Sutherland. "We are grateful for their commitment to inspire the next generation of golfers through MyGolf." Emerging star Elvis Smylie has locked in the defence of his Australian PGA Championship crown in year's championship, co-sanctioned by the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia and DP World Tour, will again be hosted by Royal Queensland Golf Club from November 23-year-old from the Gold Coast provided one of the major highlights of last season's summer of golf when he held off three-time champion Cameron Smith to win the Joe Kirkwood Cup for the first propelled Smylie onto the world stage by earning him status as a fulltime member of the DP World Tour and he went on to claim the 2024-25 Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit title. "Winning the Joe Kirkwood Cup for the first time was a huge honour and definitely the highlight of my career so far," Smylie said on Tuesday."I have some great memories of that final Sunday. It meant so much to win at home in front of my family and friends in one of Australia's most important championships."Although there's still a lot of this year to play out, I can't wait to get back to RQ and try to do it all again."Smylie's rise has continued this year, with the Queenslander making the cut on debut at the PGA Championship, his first American major. He will also contest this month's British Open at Royal Portrush. Smith, meanwhile, has announced that his LIV Golf Ripper GC team have forged a new partnership with Golf Australia's MyGolf Junior Participation program. The program has hit new heights in the past 12 months, with a record-breaking number of children involved in the sport. "Ripper GC's Cam Smith, Marc Leishman, Lucas Herbert and Matt Jones are passionate about creating opportunities for boys and girls to play and love golf," said GA boss James Sutherland. "We are grateful for their commitment to inspire the next generation of golfers through MyGolf." Emerging star Elvis Smylie has locked in the defence of his Australian PGA Championship crown in year's championship, co-sanctioned by the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia and DP World Tour, will again be hosted by Royal Queensland Golf Club from November 23-year-old from the Gold Coast provided one of the major highlights of last season's summer of golf when he held off three-time champion Cameron Smith to win the Joe Kirkwood Cup for the first propelled Smylie onto the world stage by earning him status as a fulltime member of the DP World Tour and he went on to claim the 2024-25 Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit title. "Winning the Joe Kirkwood Cup for the first time was a huge honour and definitely the highlight of my career so far," Smylie said on Tuesday."I have some great memories of that final Sunday. It meant so much to win at home in front of my family and friends in one of Australia's most important championships."Although there's still a lot of this year to play out, I can't wait to get back to RQ and try to do it all again."Smylie's rise has continued this year, with the Queenslander making the cut on debut at the PGA Championship, his first American major. He will also contest this month's British Open at Royal Portrush. Smith, meanwhile, has announced that his LIV Golf Ripper GC team have forged a new partnership with Golf Australia's MyGolf Junior Participation program. The program has hit new heights in the past 12 months, with a record-breaking number of children involved in the sport. "Ripper GC's Cam Smith, Marc Leishman, Lucas Herbert and Matt Jones are passionate about creating opportunities for boys and girls to play and love golf," said GA boss James Sutherland. "We are grateful for their commitment to inspire the next generation of golfers through MyGolf."
Perth Now
01-07-2025
- Sport
- Perth Now
Elvis in the building: Smylie to defend Aust PGA crown
Emerging star Elvis Smylie has locked in the defence of his Australian PGA Championship crown in year's championship, co-sanctioned by the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia and DP World Tour, will again be hosted by Royal Queensland Golf Club from November 23-year-old from the Gold Coast provided one of the major highlights of last season's summer of golf when he held off three-time champion Cameron Smith to win the Joe Kirkwood Cup for the first propelled Smylie onto the world stage by earning him status as a fulltime member of the DP World Tour and he went on to claim the 2024-25 Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit title. "Winning the Joe Kirkwood Cup for the first time was a huge honour and definitely the highlight of my career so far," Smylie said on Tuesday."I have some great memories of that final Sunday. It meant so much to win at home in front of my family and friends in one of Australia's most important championships."Although there's still a lot of this year to play out, I can't wait to get back to RQ and try to do it all again."Smylie's rise has continued this year, with the Queenslander making the cut on debut at the PGA Championship, his first American major. He will also contest this month's British Open at Royal Portrush. Smith, meanwhile, has announced that his LIV Golf Ripper GC team have forged a new partnership with Golf Australia's MyGolf Junior Participation program. The program has hit new heights in the past 12 months, with a record-breaking number of children involved in the sport. "Ripper GC's Cam Smith, Marc Leishman, Lucas Herbert and Matt Jones are passionate about creating opportunities for boys and girls to play and love golf," said GA boss James Sutherland. "We are grateful for their commitment to inspire the next generation of golfers through MyGolf."
