Surfing: Stylish footwork pushes Johnson to top

Mangawhai's Glen Johnson rides the nose to victory at the NZ Longboard and SUP Open.

Stylish footwork and poise on the nose has rewarded Mangawhai longboarder Glen Johnson with his first career win at the Coast Papamoa New Zealand Longboard and SUP Open.

Going one better than his runner-up finish in 2015, Johnson surfed down the beach from his competitors and capitalised on the empty waves to notch up an 11.5 point heat total for the win.

Snaking a win over the 2015 winner, Mount Maunganui's Owen Barnes, Johnson said it was "really great to beat him on his home turf".

"He's pretty unbeatable down there ... I was stoked".

The stylish natural foot surfer picked off some perfect runners on his forehand managing to get to the nose on several occasions despite the incoming tide making conditions tricky.

Gisborne's Sam Johnson placed second in the final, less than a point behind Glen, while Paul Culpan (Auckland) and Barnes finished third and fourth, respectively.

Johnson was joined by another first-time winner in young Piha surfer Gabrielle Paul who won the Women's Longboard Division.

Paul claimed a tight win in her division, pushing defending champion Alexis Poulter (Waihi Beach) back to second place despite a late charge for the lead which came up short by less than 1.0 point.

The surf remained around the 1.0m mark for the event with moderate cross-offshore winds at Papamoa Domain. Varying tides made for an array of conditions ranging from long peeling waves on the outer banks over the low tide to short, sharp beach break waves on the full tide.