Former bikie Ryan Peake wins NZ Open
West Australian Ryan Peake has completed a remarkable story of redemption with a pulsating one-stroke win at the 104th New Zealand Open.
Trailing Korean star Guntaek Koh by four strokes at the start of the final round at Millbrook Resort in Queenstown, Peake needed to make a 10-foot putt for par on the 72nd hole to avoid a playoff with fellow Australian Jack Thompson (63), Japan’s Kazuki Higa (66) and South African Ian Snyman (66).
The 31-year-old went bogey-free for his final 55 holes and shot 5-under 66 on Sunday to finish atop the leaderboard at 23-under par, in so doing becoming the first lefthander to win the New Zealand Open since Sir Bob Charles in 1973.
Sixty-two years after Charles become the first New Zealander to win The Open Championship, as champion, Peake will now contest the 153rd Open Championship at Royal Portrush in July and is now in contention to claim the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit, climbing to second overall.
He also now has Asian Tour membership through to the end of 2027.
Given his backstory that includes amateur golf alongside Cameron Smith and a five-year stint in jail for assault while a member of the Rebels bikie gang, Peake did not have the necessary visa to travel to New Zealand until the start of the week.
He arrived in Queenstown on Tuesday, played 36 holes on Wednesday and leaves with another extraordinary chapter added to his story.
“I’ve just changed my life,” Peake said post-round. “This is what I do. I want to be here and just play golf. The story is what it is, but I’m just out here playing golf.”
It was while he was incarcerated that renowned coach Ritchie Smith reached out and asked whether Peake wanted to play competitive golf again.
He wondered whether he was a charity case, but also knew Smith well enough to know he wouldn’t waste time on an assignment he saw no future in.
It was a heart-to-heart at the end of 2024 that reaffirmed to Peake that while a win had proved elusive, they were on a path towards something special.
“I always knew I could do it; it was just a matter of time when I was going to do it,” he added.
“Elvis Smylie was in the same predicament not too long ago and our coach, Ritchie Smith, said it was going to switch and that you’ve just got to commit to it.
“He had the same chat with me when I missed the cut at the Aussie Open and the Aussie PGA.
“We set out some goals of how we wanted to finish off the rest of the year and along with my family, my team, everyone believed. But most of all I believed as well.”
Given the play of Koh over the previous 36 holes, Peake’s belief in his chances of winning had to have been tested early on Sunday.
A birdie at the fifth hole lifted Peake into a tie for second but still three shots off the lead, that deficit trimmed to two by the seventh hole.
Koh moved three shots clear again with birdie at the par-4 eighth but Peake stayed in the frame with crucial birdies at nine and 12 to join Koh at 22-under and tied for the lead.
Three bogeys in succession by Koh from the 13th hole dramatically changed the complexion of the tournament, Peake suddenly sharing top spot with Thompson, Snyman and Higa with two holes to play.
Thompson and Snyman both missed birdie chances at the final hole in the groups ahead, leaving Peake to two-putt for birdie from the back fringe at the par-5 17th to move one clear, his first putt coming to rest just two feet to the left of the cup.
It meant that par at a par-3 finisher framed by water would seal victory, only for Peake to add to the tension when he missed the green to the right with his tee shot.
Left with a testing chip across the green towards water on the far side, Peake came up short with his chip. He then showed remarkable composure to hole the putt for par and add his name to the New Zealand Open’s remarkable history.
That history will continue to be written in Queenstown, with Millbrook Resort confirmed as the host venue for at least the next seven years at the tournament presentation.
The leading Kiwi was Daniel Hiller, who closed with a 5-under 66 to finish at 17-under-par, one ahead of Sam Jones (70) with 2017 Champion Mike Hendry (66) a further shot back.
