Good things are happening for Ryan Peake.
On Thursday, he will tee it up in the season-ending The National Tournament, destined to finish second on the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit.
Given Elvis Smylie’s BMW Australian PGA Championship win, Peake will effectively assume the category of this tour’s No.1 player when he embarks on his rookie season on the DP World Tour later this year.
There is a major championship debut awaiting the 32-year-old at The Open Championship, reward for his victory at the New Zealand Open that formed part of the Open Qualifying Series.
Yet Peake’s well-documented past lingers, the after-effects of five years in prison creating roadblocks that others in his position never have to confront.
He has a Great Britain and Northern Ireland passport that ensures he will be able to tee it up at Royal Portrush from July 17-20 but entry into other countries – particularly throughout Asia – will be problematic.
Another bonus of Peake’s win in the co-sanctioned NZ Open is status on the Asian Tour. Using that status, however, is mired in visa and immigration law.
It’s why as his life-changing season draws to a close, he can’t yet bring himself to look too far forward.
“I’ve sat down with my manager and team and we’ve looked at schedules, but as far as excitement goes, it’s not quite there yet,” conceded Peake, who tees off at 12:50pm Thursday with former Order of Merit winners Jed Morgan and David Micheluzzi.
“We’re not a hundred percent sure on where exactly I’ll get to first because it’s going to be a bit of a process.
“There’s a lot of countries that I will get into, but it’s not just going to be a couple-of-week process.
“We’re looking more between four to six months of figuring it all out.
“It’s all my own doing, but it still does suck.”
But for the knocks that may come, there are moments to look forward to.
Peake’s family will join him for The Open at Royal Portrush in Northern Ireland and he will finish 2025 as a member of the DP World Tour.
What happens in between will be determined on a week-to-week basis.
“It’s a major – it’s my first major – and my whole family’s coming so it’s going to be a very special week,” he added.
“But in saying that, once that week’s done, it’s back on to the other tours as well.
“Obviously I want to play well and see what happens from there, but it is one tournament as opposed to a whole season out there.
“It is all a new experience for me, so every tournament that I play on the calendar season is going to be one to look forward to.”
Round 1 of The National Tournament teed off at 8:10am on Thursday morning and entry to spectators is free all four days. The final two rounds are broadcast live on Fox Sports and Kayo from 3pm-6pm Saturday and 1pm-6pm Sunday AEDT.