THE OAKBERRY TWEED COAST PRO QS 5000 LOCKS IN AUSTRALIA’S TOP 10

Well, the last QS for the Australia/Oceanic region is done and dusted. The Oakberry Tweed Coast Pro QS 5000 was one for the books. It was not only a great event for surf, but it had a lot of emotions running high with the event either making or breaking some competitors qualifying for the Challenger Series at the back end of the year. 

As the days rolled through, the stand-outs were clear, Sophie McCulloch was surfing hard and fast throughout the whole event and ended up meeting up with friend and rival Molly Picklum in the semi final. This was like the Boomerang final all over again. Both Molly and Soph got a few good waves under their belts but it was Molly who got the jump over Sophie and solidified herself a spot in the final.

Young gun semi two was a cracker. Sierra Kerr was the talk of the town throughout the early rounds, knocking out some big names and locking in some even bigger scores but she couldn’t match the experience and finesse of Zahli Kelly who was putting together some excellent heat totals and next level surfing. Zahli was constantly on the answer back throughout the whole heat and in the end confirmed her spot in the final against Molly.

As the women’s final was nearing, everyone had their eyes on both Molly and Zahli who have been competing against each other for a long time. Molly had a slower start to the heat, falling on a few waves which left the door open for Zahli to lock in some good scores and run away with the lead. But a small air from Molly locked in her first decent score which got her back in the race. 

A carve to snap combination on a good looking wave scored an 8.5 for Molly Picklum and she almost immediately locked in an 8.6 thus, putting fellow competitor Zahli Kelly in a combination situation at the back end of the heat and in turn, took out the last QS of the region here in Aus. 

With the points really coming into play here, we have our confirmed top 10 for the women in the Australia/Oceanic region;

1. Molly Picklum
2. Macy Callaghan (CT)
3. Sophie McCulloch
4. Zahli Kelly
5. Bronte Macaulay (CT)
6. Philippa Anderson
7. Freya Prumm 
8. Kobie Enright
9. India Robinson
10. Dimity Stoyle 

With the Challenger Series only taking top 8, we will be taking out the two CT surfers in the mix and seeing the other 8 surfers battle it out for a spot on the dream tour with every other region. 

We cannot wait for the start of these to roll through and are really excited to see who the new Rookie on Tours will be for the 2022 Championship Tour.