Ryan Peake rededicated himself to golf following a five-year prison sentence for aggravated assault.
Media engagements with golfers rarely delve into topics like gangs and incarceration, but Ryan Peake’s journey to his major championship debut is anything but ordinary.
Indeed, when Royal Portrush last hosted The Open in 2019, Peake was concluding a five-year sentence at Hakea Prison in Western Australia for serious assault.
A promising junior golfer who turned professional at 19, a “burnt out” Peake drifted from the sport and joined the Rebels, an outlawed motorcycle gang, at 21.
How did a talented young golfer from Perth become a member of a “bikie” gang?
“It was normalized for me,” said the 31-year-old, who secured his spot at The Open at Royal Portrush by winning the New Zealand Open.
“It wasn’t unusual where I was from to be involved in that scene with my friends.
“I found something I loved and enjoyed. I was interested in it and found something there that I felt I hadn’t found anywhere else.”
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Peake (right) spent time with fellow Australians Cameron Smith (left) and Elvis Smylie (centre) during Tuesday’s practice round at Royal Portrush
For Peake, who began playing golf at 10, being a “bikie” was like having a “hobby that you live and breathe as well.”
However, his involvement in that lifestyle ultimately led to his imprisonment for his role in assaulting someone who, in his words, was making “threats towards us.”
“We went to deal with it, but it wasn’t meant to happen like that,” Peake recalled.
“We were generally just going there for a chat, and he was probably going to get a couple of punches, and that would be it.
“But the threats he made turned out to be true. He was armed, and it escalated from there.”
Having played in the same Australian junior golf teams as future Open champion Cameron Smith, adjusting to the “appalling conditions” in a maximum-security correctional facility represented a significant downturn.
But while incarcerated, he began his rehabilitation process.
“I wanted to achieve better things in my life because I was never going to profit from being a bikie, and I didn’t,” said Peake.
“I enjoyed the lifestyle while I was living it, but it wasn’t going to get me ahead in life. I was always going to fall further and further behind and probably end up back in jail.
“But I’ve had great support networks that have always helped me. This time, I took their advice and followed the path they were trying to create for me.”
“They” include Ritchie Smith, the experienced Australian coach who contacted Peake while he was in prison.
Smith, whose students Min Woo Lee and Elvis Smylie are also competing in Northern Ireland this week, believed Peake could return to golf.
“I didn’t believe it at the start, but he did,” explained the heavily tattooed left-hander.
“He coaches major winners and the world’s best. He’s not going to dedicate his time to something he doesn’t believe in himself, so that’s what got me believing it could happen.
“I gave it a go. I probably didn’t think it would get to where it is now, and we’re trying to progress further. It was definitely a stepping stone, and it came from there.”
Peake described his New Zealand Open win in March as “life-changing.”
Having regained his pro status in 2022, the most significant moment of Peake’s career came in Queenstown in early March, where he holed an eight-foot par putt on the last to win the New Zealand Open by one stroke.
His story has naturally garnered interest, and while Peake could have chosen to avoid discussing his past, he says he “just likes honesty.”
“It’s me. I guess I got out of the [motorcycle] club from being honest as well,” he added. “It’s hard to kick someone that’s honest, right?
“It’s my view, my life, and my story. I’m not embarrassed about it. It’s something I’ve done, and I’ve owned it.”
Peake’s British passport, due to his father’s English birth, facilitated his entry to the United Kingdom, where he is competing in golf’s oldest championship.
He will play the first two rounds alongside six-time major winner Phil Mickelson, teeing off at 07:19 BST in round one on Thursday. He has also secured DP World Tour membership for 2026 after finishing second on the Australasian Tour Order of Merit.
It’s a far cry from his incarceration, but Peake doesn’t seem overly interested in receiving accolades for turning his life around.
“I’m not trying to be a role model or anyone’s superhero,” he said.
“I’m just living the best life I can, and whatever people see from that, that’s what they see.”
Now that he’s here, what are his expectations for this week?
“Obviously, I want to make the cut. I just want to get on that first tee, feel like myself, and play my golf,” he said.
“Feel comfortable, play my game, and be within myself. 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 and be free.
“If I can do that, I won’t have to worry about the result – it’ll speak for itself.”
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