Morgan Cibilic will have to get it done at the season-ending World Cup of Surfing at Sunset Beach if he is to qualify for the 2020 championship tour after bowing out in the round of 32 at the Hawaiian Pro on Friday (AEDT).
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Cibilic and fellow Merewether surfer Ryan Callinan exited in round four at the 10,000-point qualifying series event, the first of the triple crown, in pumping swell at Haleiwa.
Sitting equal 16th on the QS before the contest, Cibilic came back early from a knee injury to chase qualification.
He got the waves he needed to finish second in rounds two and three and progress at the Hawaiian Pro but he fell twice on Friday as he tried to find a second good score in bigger conditions.
The 20-year-old earned a 5.0 early but managed only a 0.8 back-up in a three-way battle for second behind a dominant Wade Carmichael (18.0). Connor O'Leary (10.84) progressed ahead of South African David Van Zyl (8.9) and Cibilic.
With just the 10,000-point World Cup of Surfing to go, Cibilic will likely need a finals result to make the QS top 10 and the 2020 tour.
His 2100-point effort at Haleiwa replaces a 450 score on his five best performances of the year, taking him to 15,500 overall and still outside the qualifying line. With a lowest score of 1000 on his tally, Cibilic will need a better result at Sunset Beach to break into the top 10.
World No.12 Callinan, who has re-qualified on the CT, was second in his round-three heat early on Friday but was eliminated as a close third in his next surf.
Callinan was second to Alejo Muniz in round four before friend Frederico Morais struck with a 7.23 and an 8.77 to lead and drop the Novocastrian to third.
Morais (16.0) and Muniz (15.0) progressed ahead of Callinan (13.9) and American Nat Young (10.5).
