Golf isn’t typically associated with motorcycle gangs or maximum-security prisons—but Ryan Peake’s story is anything but typical.
As the 31-year-old Australian tees it up at The Open Championship in Royal Portrush, he brings with him a past more dramatic than most sports biographies. Just five years ago, when The Open was last held at Portrush in 2019, Peake was completing a five-year prison sentence for serious assault in Hakea Prison, Western Australia.
Now, he’s not only back in the professional golf world—he’s playing in one of its biggest events.
A Promising Start Gone Off Course
Peake began playing golf at age 10 and was soon seen as one of Australia’s brightest young talents. By 19, he had turned professional and was rubbing shoulders with the likes of Cameron Smith, now a major winner himself. But while Smith’s career ascended, Peake’s took a darker turn.
“I just burnt out,” he admits. By 21, Peake had walked away from professional golf and joined the Rebels, an outlawed motorcycle gang in Australia. He described the gang lifestyle as a “hobby that you live and breathe,” saying it offered him a sense of belonging he hadn’t found elsewhere.
But that sense of belonging came at a heavy cost.
Crime, Prison, and Rock Bottom
Peake’s association with the Rebels led to a violent altercation that would change his life. What was intended to be a “chat” with someone making threats quickly escalated. “He was armed, and it escalated from there,” Peake recalls. The incident landed him in a maximum-security prison—an unthinkable fall for someone once tipped for greatness on the fairways.
Yet, in those grim conditions, Peake started to reflect and rebuild.
Redemption Through Golf
“I knew I wasn’t going to profit from being a bikie,” he said. “I was always going to fall further and further behind.”
While serving his sentence, Peake connected with renowned Australian golf coach Ritchie Smith, whose clients include world-class talents like Min Woo Lee and Elvis Smylie. Smith believed Peake had unfinished business with golf.
Peake didn’t believe it at first. But Smith did—and that belief was contagious. “He’s not going to dedicate his time to someone he doesn’t believe in,” Peake said. “So that’s what got me believing it could happen.”
Back on Tour—and Now on the Biggest Stage
After regaining his pro status in 2022, Peake’s breakthrough moment came earlier this year at the New Zealand Open, where he held his nerve to sink an eight-foot par putt on the final hole and secure victory. That win earned him a spot at The Open, golf’s oldest and most prestigious major.
His comeback was complete.
He enters The Open with a British passport, thanks to his father being born in England, and will tee off alongside six-time major winner Phil Mickelson on Thursday morning.
Honest About His Past, Focused on the Future
Peake isn’t running from his past—in fact, he embraces it. “It’s me,” he says. “I’m not embarrassed. I’ve owned it.”
He’s not looking to be anyone’s hero either. “I’m not trying to be a role model or a superhero. I’m just living the best life I can.”
His expectations for this week at Portrush? Grounded. “I just want to get on that first tee, feel myself, and play my golf. Be within myself. If I can do that, I won’t worry about the result—it’ll speak for itself.”
A Story of Second Chances
In a sport known for its tradition and decorum, Ryan Peake’s story is a raw and powerful reminder that talent can come from the unlikeliest places—and that redemption is possible.
From a prison cell to the grand stage of The Open, Peake isn’t just swinging clubs—he’s breaking barriers, rewriting narratives, and proving that sometimes, the roughest roads lead to the most beautiful fairways.
