| Ryan Peake | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Peake in 2025 | |||
| Personal information | |||
| Nickname | Peaky[1] | ||
| Born | (1993-03-08)8 March 1993 (age 32) Perth, Australia | ||
| Height | 185 cm (6 ft 1 in)[2] | ||
| Weight | 105 kg (231 lb)[2] | ||
| Sporting nationality |  Australia | ||
| Career | |||
| Turned professional | 2012 | ||
| Current tours | Asian Tour PGA Tour of Australasia European Tour | ||
| Professional wins | 2 | ||
| Number of wins by tour | |||
| Asian Tour | 1 | ||
| PGA Tour of Australasia | 1 | ||
| Other | 1 | ||
| Best results in major championships | |||
| Masters Tournament | DNP | ||
| PGA Championship | DNP | ||
| U.S. Open | DNP | ||
| The Open Championship | CUT: 2025 | ||
| Achievements and awards | |||
| |||
Ryan Peake (born 8 March 1993) is an Australianprofessional golfer.[3] After a promising amateur career, he turned professional in 2012. Peake later joined theRebels Motorcycle Club, anoutlaw motorcycle club, and was sentenced to prison forassault in 2014. He was released in 2019 and made a return to golf, earning status on thePGA Tour of Australasia. He won theNew Zealand Open in 2025 and finished second on the tour's Order of Merit, securing status on theEuropean Tour.
Peake was born on 8 March 1993 inPerth, Australia, to Michelle and Mel Peake.[4] He has British citizenship, as his father is originally from England.[1] Mel was a bricklayer who later became agreenkeeper after his body deteriorated due to the bricklaying.[2] Peake attended East Wanneroo Primary School and played sports such asfootball andcricket.[2]
Peake's father, grandfather and cousin played golf recreationally at Lakelands Country Club inGnangara, and he joined them at a young age.[2] With a compact, left-handed swing, Peake showed immediate ability and found success in junior tournaments.[4] He was an outcast in school and was bullied, to the point that his father would often escort him home. Peake eventually fought back against his main bully, after which the abuse stopped.[2][4]
At age 13, Peake won the club championship at Lakelands for the first time.[5] He received early tutelage from Ritchie Smith, known also as a coach of other Perth golfers such asHannah Green,Minjee Lee, andMin Woo Lee.[1] In 2009, Peake was runner-up at the South Australian Junior Masters and the Tamar Valley Junior Cup, and won the Tasmanian Junior Open Championship and West Australian Junior Championship.[2]
As a 17-year-old, he was chosen to represent Australia alongsideCameron Smith in the boys' division of the 2010Trans Tasman Cup, where he helped Australia to defeat New Zealand.[5] Also in 2010, Peake won theHanda Junior Masters,[6] and made the cut at theAustralian Open on thePGA Tour of Australasia.[4] He tied for first at the Kurnia-Saujana Amateur Championship in May 2011, losing in a playoff toGavin Green.[7] Later in 2011, Peake he finished tied-10th at theWA Open.[4]
Peake turned professional in 2012, aged 19. He finished tied-36th in his professional debut at the 2012WA Open.[2] He also made a number of cuts on the Australian mini-tours, but failed to earn playing status during the 2012 PGA Tour of Australasiaqualifying school at Peninsula Golf Club inVictoria. He experienced loneliness and depression while competing, and felt that he had let down his family, friends and coaches.[4]
To fund his golf career, Peake worked in themines in Western Australia, as well as other jobs such as plastering, bricklaying and cement mixing.[4] He began to drink alcohol heavily, ballooned from around 95 kg (209 lb) to 130 kg (287 lb), and ceased to compete in golf.[2] Around this time, he joined theRebels Motorcycle Club, anoutlaw motorcycle club he had interacted with since his teenage years. He later said: "It wasn't abnormal from where I was from to hang out in that sort of scene with my friends."[8] After repeatedly requesting to become a member, he received hispatch signifying full membership at age 21. He recalled in 2025: "Where I was at that stage in my life, it was the only thing that brought me comfort. I felt like I belonged."[4]
In November 2014, Peake and five other members of the Rebels Motorcycle Club confronted a man who had allegedly threatened the Rebels. A fight ensued and the man was left with significant injuries, including afractured skull. Peake was arrested three weeks later.[4] At the time of the incident, he was out on bail for a separate assault charge.[2] He was sentenced to seven years' imprisonment for two counts of causinggrievous bodily harm.[9] Peake was initially imprisoned inHakea Prison, a maximum-security facility, but served most of his sentence atAcacia Prison.[2] While imprisoned, he lost the excess weight he had gained, studied to become an electrician, and gave golf tips to his fellow inmates. WhenCameron Smith won theAustralian PGA Championship in 2017, the tournament was shown on the prison televisions and other inmates needled Peake after learning that Smith was his childhood friend and former Australian national golf teammate.[4]
Soon after the 2017 Australian PGA,[4] Peake was contacted by his former golf coach Ritchie Smith, who asked if he had considered resuming his golf career and offered to coach him.[2] Peake then told his fellow Rebels he was thinking about leaving the club and restarting his golf career. Although membership of an outlaw motorcycle club is usually a lifelong commitment, Peake stated the other members were supportive of his plan: "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."[4][5] He then arranged for his biker vest and hisHarley-Davidson Street Bob to be given to the Rebels. He also requested to be transferred toWooroloo Prison Farm, a minimum-security prison. His petition was granted and he spent his final year in prison at Wooroloo, where he was allowedday release and began practicing golf again.[2] While still serving his sentence, he shot a bogey-free 66 to win the club championship at his home course Lakelands.[4] In his winner's speech, he said: "I hope you enjoy your night but I'm back off to jail." Peake was released from prison in May 2019.[2]
After his release from prison, Peake began to work as a greenkeeper at Lakelands Country Club.[4] Although out of prison, he was still on parole for two years. Peake received permission from the Western Australia parole board to compete in the 2020Australian Amateur held atRoyal Queensland Golf Club. He advanced through the stroke play, but was defeated byElvis Smylie in the match play. Peake turned professional a second time shortly afterwards, but there were no tournaments being held due to theCOVID-19 pandemic. He subsequently began work as a trade assistant at a mine, until pursuing golf full-time beginning in late 2022.[9]
In 2023, Peake won three consecutive tournaments on the Western Australia swing of the addias PGA Pro-Am Series: the Bennco Group Karratha Pro-Am, the Roy Hill Golf Classic and the Broome Furnishings – Carpet, Paint and Tiles Pro–Am.[9][10] He later earned partial status on the2023–24 PGA Tour of Australasia, and full status on the2024–25 PGA Tour of Australasia.[4] In December 2024, Peake won the Sandbelt Invitational atRoyal Melbourne Golf Club, defeatingDavid Micheluzzi in a playoff for the title.[11]
In March 2025, Peake won theNew Zealand Open, a PGA Tour of Australasia event co-sanctioned with theAsian Tour. He shot a final-round 66 atMillbrook Resort inQueenstown to total 23-under-par, finishing one stroke ahead ofKazuki Higa,Ian Snyman, andJack Thompson.[12][13] Prior to the tournament, he had difficulty travelling to New Zealand due to his criminal record. He arrived in Queenstown just 36 hours before the tournament began.[14] Peake became the first left-hander to win the New Zealand Open sinceBob Charles in 1973.[15] With the win, Peake also earned NZ$302,000 and secured entry to the2025 Open Championship.[16] Later in March, Peake was namedRookie of the Year for the 2024–25 PGA Tour of Australasia season. He finished second on the tour's Order of Merit, which earned him aDP World Tour card for the 2026 season.[17]
Making his major championship debut at the 2025 Open Championship, Peake was paired with six-time major championPhil Mickelson for the first two rounds.[18] Peake shot rounds of 77-73 to total 8-over and missed the cut.[19]
Peake became engaged to his then-girlfriend Lee while in New Zealand in 2025.[4]
| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | Margin of victory | Runners-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 Mar2025 | New Zealand Open1 | −23 (67-64-64-66=261) | 1 stroke |  Kazuki Higa, Ian Snyman,Jack Thompson |
1Co-sanctioned by thePGA Tour of Australasia
| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | Margin of victory | Runners-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 Mar2025 | New Zealand Open1 | −23 (67-64-64-66=261) | 1 stroke | Kazuki Higa,Ian Snyman,Jack Thompson |
1Co-sanctioned by theAsian Tour
| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | Margin of victory | Runner-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 19 Dec 2024 | Sandbelt Invitational | −3 (70-68-75-67=280) | Playoff | David Micheluzzi |
| Tournament | 2025 |
|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | |
| PGA Championship | |
| U.S. Open | |
| The Open Championship | CUT |
CUT = missed the halfway cut