Mount Maunganui surfer Ant McColl claimed his maiden Hyundai Tour longboard victory in his home waters at Tay St yesterday in the fourth of five events for the season.
The crowd-pleasing victory was played out in a small 1m swell groomed by offshore winds.
The final was the closest of the tour this year with 0.50 points separating first from third.
"Yeah, super stoked, I have been doing this for 10 years and have never won anything in the open so for it to happen today in front of a home crowd, I am over the moon" an almost rattled McColl exclaimed.
McColl staved off Matt Cockayne (Auckland) from taking his first title of the Hyundai Tour while current ratings leader Thomas Kibblewhite (Auckland) had to settle for third.
McColl started the final with a flurry of waves surfing away from the other three competitors using his local knowledge to full effect scoring a 7.67 on his first ride and 7.10 on his second.
"The waves were a bit better this afternoon and I just did my own thing and went over to the side of the area and got a good start and got rid of the jitters and took it from there and it seemed to go well," said McColl who used his trademark traditional style to rack up a heat score of 14.77 out of a possible 20 points.
Runner-up was New Zealand rep Cockayne, who challenged for the lead on several occasions, his best assault coming on a lefthander where he completed the longest hang five, then 10, of the event. The wave scored 7.67 out of 10 but left him 0.27 points short of McColl.
"Ant's surfed the final of his life. I have missed out of all the finals by one spot this year so it is good to actually make a final and get second even though I didn't go all the way."
Current ratings leader Kibblewhite (Red Beach) fought back in the final with his best wave of 7.03 coming on his last ride, 0.84 points short of the score required for the win.
Gisborne surfer Daniel Procter started the final slowly but came back into the fold at the end with a 6.70 point ride leaving him requiring an 8.08 point ride.
Despite placing third in the final, Kibblewhite extended his lead on the ratings while Cockayne jumps to second ahead of McColl.
After dominating the first day, only one Australian surfer made it through to the final of the women's longboard division but that was all it took for them to take the title back across the ditch, with Molly Powell claiming the victory.
Powell looked superior with her soft footwork working the board, her best ride being her last, scoring 7.60 to the cheers of her travelling companions supporting her from the sand dunes.
Raglan's Alexis Poulter placed second in the final ahead of her Kiwi compatriots, posting an 8.93 point heat total to leave current ratings leader Mischa Davis (Piha) in third and defending champ Shelley Jones fourth.
It took Mount local Guy Rencher three consecutive finals to lock in a win but it came in relatively easy fashion over Orewa surfer and current ratings leader Brian Young. Rencher has worked his way from fourth in the first event to a second in the third event and finally a first.
Young by way of his second placing retains the No1 ranking going into the final event of the year in two weeks. Mount's Geoff Cox was third ahead of Mal Brady.
Results:
Men's longboard semifinals: Heat 1: T Kibblewhite (Auck), 14, 1, D Proctor (Gis), 11.47, 2, O Barnes (Mnt), 11.23, 3, D Barnfield (Ohope), 10.2, 4. Heat 2: A McColl (Mnt), 12.9, 1, M Cockayne (Mngwhai), 10.57, 2, C Anderson (Mnt), 8.2, 3, M Bramely (Whtane), 5.73, 4. Final: A McColl (Mnt), 14.77, 1, M Cockayne (Mngwhai), 14.50, 2, T Kibblewhite (Auck), 13.94, 3, D Proctor (Gis), 12.53, 4.
Women's longboard semifinals: Heat 1: S Jones (Auck), 6.53, 1, M Davis (Oratia), 4.03, 2, B Goodwin (Mt), 2.93, 3, A Snyder (Tau), 2.4, 4. Heat 2: A Poulter (Rag), 10.53, 1, M Powell (Aust), 8.73, 2, L Small (Aust), 5.57, 3, C Watson-Brown (Aust), 4.67, 4. Final: M Powell (Aust), 13.93, 1, A Poulter (Rag), 8.93, 2, M Davis (Oratia), 7.83, 3, S Jones (Auck), 5.10, 4.
Under-18 boys final: 1 H Douglas (Whtane), 13.17, 1, M Craig (Whtane), 12.00, 2, J Taylor (Tau), 9.70, 3, S Poulter (Rag), 8.23, 4
Over-40 final: G Rencher (Mnt), 11.33, 1, B Young (Orewa), 8.00, 2, G Cox (Mnt), 6.07, 3, M Brady (Mnt), 5.03, 4
Over-50 final: M Thomson (Rag), 10.30, 1, V Treacy (Ocean Beach), 7.57, 2, M Hoyle (Orewa), 6.97, 3, R Newbold (Whngrei), 6.17, 4 .
Stand Up paddleboard final: S Baxter (ChCh), 10.73, 1, K Aarsen (Whmata), 10.47, 2, D Kereopa (Rag), 10.17, 3, A Armstrong (Rag), 7.87, 4.