MEREWETHER surfer Philippa Anderson’s hopes of qualifying for the Championship Tour are alive after she squeaked through the third round of the Port Stephens Toyota Pro at Birubi Beach on Saturday.
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Anderson, who is 11th on the QS rankings and within reach of a maiden CT spot, finished second, behind India Robinson (10.17)
The 26-year-old had a combined two-wave score of 8.70.
Needing to reach the quarter-finals to be a hope of finishing in the top six of the qualifying series, Anderson drew CT surfer Nikki Van Dijk and Barbados’ Chelsea Tuach in the fourth round.
Van Dijk, sitting in 10th on the CT rankings, may rely on her QS ranking to remain on the CT in 2019.
“The waves were so fun out there I kind of wish I had another heat today,” Van Dijk said. “I’m here to win this contest and set myself up to re-qualify. I’m currently re-qualifying through both the CT and QS but with so many good surfers on both tours I want to put my fate in my own hands and guarantee myself a spot on tour next year.”
