MEREWETHER'S Ryan Callinan saved his best until last to avoid the elimination round at the Margaret River Pro.
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Men's action at the World Surf League event got underway on Monday, Callinan finishing second in heat eight following a 7.5 ride with 90 seconds remaining.
The 31-year-old goofy footer nailed two turns on his backhand and scored 14.33 overall, jumping recent Bells winner Cole Houshmand (12.73) and landing just below Brazil's Caio Ibelli (14.93).
It was a crucial move from Callinan, who arrives ranked 17th and trying to stay above the mid-season cut line (22 male surfers).
His opening-round result sees him safely through to the last 32, meaning he's guaranteed to walk away from Western Australia with a minimum 1330 points.
Callinan had accumulated 11,000 points from the first four stops of the championship tour, with a year-best third at Sunset Beach (6085). Portugal's early exit last month now becomes a throwaway (265).
He found himself leading Monday's heat on three occasions, his second-highest effort of 6.83 landed midway through the 30-minute contest.
Gabriel Medina, George Pittar, Ethan Ewing, Seth Moniz and Italo Ferreira were among the earlier heat winners while 11-time champion Kelly Slater heads to the elimination round.
Margaret River's competition window closes this weekend.
Meanwhile, Merewether's Ocean Lancaster (under-16 boys) and Port Stephens' Eden Hasson (under-18 boys) were both recently listed in a 12-strong team to represent Australia at the ISA World Junior Surfing Championships in El Salvador next month (May 3-12).