Jackson Baker has moved up 20 spots to 33rd on the World Surf League qualifying series with his third and biggest victory of the year.
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The Merewether surfer took out the SA Open of Surfing at Port Elizabeth with a 13.33 to 10.84 final win over local Adin Masencamp on Saturday night (AEST).
Victory at the 1500-point event follows early season wins at the 1000-point Tweed Coast and Great Lakes Pro for Baker, who also won at that level in Japan in 2016.
The wins give the 21-year-old a solid base to lift his vital end-of-season ranking, which was 105th after 2017.
Baker was in control early against Masencamp, scoring 8.0 with his first wave. He backed that up quickly with an 3.83. Masencamp needed a 6.17 for most of the decider but Baker all but sealed the win with a four-turn ride and 5.33 with two minutes left to leave his rival requiring 7.67.
Merewether’s Philippa Anderson is into round three of the 3000-point women’s SA Open. Baker and clubmate Ryan Callinan are set to feature at the 10,000-point Ballito Pro starting Monday.
