Seaford surfer Dion Atkinson within touching distance of place on World Championship Tour

SA SURFING journeyman Dion Atkinson has all but realised a lifetime dream of winning a place on the World Championship Tour.

SA surfer nears World Tour spot

SURFING journeyman Dion Atkinson has all but realised a lifetime dream of winning a place on the World Championship Tour following a spectacular effort at the Reef Hawaiian Pro this week.

Atkinson made it all the way to the final of the Prime Series event, eventually finishing fourth in Sunday's decider to bank 4000 points.

The result moved him to eighth on the qualifying circuit rankings, with the top 10 to qualify for next year's Tour.

The final event of the season - the World Cup - starts today at Sunset Beach, Hawaii, and only a freak series of results would see Atkinson miss the cut.

The Seaford boardrider has about a 2000 point buffer on the 11th placed qualifier and could only miss out if three surfers currently outside the top 10 made the final at Sunset.

Even then, Atkinson can take luck out of the equation with a good result himself.

"There's five or six guys that are realistically in striking range and three of them would have to do what I've just done and make a final for me to miss, which is a big ask,'' the 27-year-old said from Hawaii yesterday.

"But I'm taking the mindset that I'm in this event as well, so if I can go out and make another final or have a good event, that would take any doubt out of it."

Atkinson, who is based at Seaford, is aiming to become the first SA-based surfer to make the World Championship Tour.

Fellow Croweater Jarrad Howse qualified in 2006 but was based on the east coast.

Atkinson credits his success to more maturity, which he says was on display at the Reef Pro, where he surfed superbly to make the final.

He won $10,000 in prizemoney for the effort.

"If you told me at the start of the week I was going to get fourth, I would have pinched myself and I would have been stoked,'' Atkinson said.

"I was a bit bummed with the way the final worked out but I was stoked with the way I went through the event. "