Max Ford, a 23-year-old golfer from Queensland, is aiming to elevate his career by following in the footsteps of Ryan Peake. This week, Ford competes in the $60,000 Ian Weigh Toyota Rockhampton Pro-Am at Rockhampton Golf Club. His journey mirrors that of Peake, who returned to professional golf after serving five years in jail and found success through the adidas PGA Pro-Am Series.
Ford began his golfing journey as a junior talent from Cairns before moving to Royal Queensland Golf Club at age 16 to train with Chris Gibson. He participated in the First Stage of Qualifying School alongside Jake McLeod but finished 44th at the Final Stage, missing full status for the 2025/2026 season.
Peake’s experience provides insight for Ford. In 2023, Peake shifted focus towards smaller tournaments like the adidas PGA Pro-Am Series after finishing 39th at Final Stage. His performance there eventually led him to become a New Zealand Open champion and secure a spot in The Open at Royal Portrush.
Reflecting on Peake’s achievements, Ford remarked: “I didn’t know that, but now I know it’s pretty amazing to see.” He acknowledged how quickly success can come if one plays well: “It’s great to see that and that’s a great example of what can happen.”
After turning professional post-Final Stage, Ford headed west for the WA swing of the Pro-Am Series. His best result was tying for seventh at the Spalding Park Open. Recently, he achieved back-to-back wins by shooting impressive scores at both JET Engineering Tieri Pro-Am and Bolt Off Clermont Pro-Am.
Ford looks forward to competing in three rounds at Rockhampton among seasoned Tour winners. “It’s probably more that I’ll enjoy the fact we get to play three rounds of golf instead of one or two days,” said Ford. Working alongside Quinn Croker, James Mee, and Lincoln Morgan on Royal Queensland’s greens staff helps him prepare for future four-round events.
The defending champion Chris Wood returns to compete against last year’s Challenger PGA Tour winners Ben Henkel (Gippsland Super 6), Will Bruyeres (PNG Open), and James Conran (Heritage Classic). The first round begins Thursday morning.
