Jackson Baker has moved up 20 spots to 33rd on the World Surf League qualifying series with his third and biggest victory of the year.
The Merewether surfer took out the SA Open of Surfing at Port Elizabeth with a 13.33 to 10.84 final win over local Adin Masencamp on Saturday night (AEST).
Victory at the 1500-point event follows early season wins at the 1000-point Tweed Coast and Great Lakes Pro for Baker, who also won at that level in Japan in 2016.
The wins give the 21-year-old a solid base to lift his vital end-of-season ranking, which was 105th after 2017.
Baker was in control early against Masencamp, scoring 8.0 with his first wave. He backed that up quickly with an 3.83. Masencamp needed a 6.17 for most of the decider but Baker all but sealed the win with a four-turn ride and 5.33 with two minutes left to leave his rival requiring 7.67.
Merewether’s Philippa Anderson is into round three of the 3000-point women’s SA Open. Baker and clubmate Ryan Callinan are set to feature at the 10,000-point Ballito Pro starting Monday.
