Wilson falls just short in Billabong

COOLUM Beach's Julian Wilson has fallen agonisingly short at the Billabong Pro in South Africa after being eliminated in a tight quarter-final.

Julian Wilson. Picture: ©ASP/ Robertson

COOLUM Beach's Julian Wilson has fallen agonisingly short at the Billabong Pro in South Africa after being eliminated in a tight quarter-final.

Wilson was one of the form surfers of the ASP World Championship Tour event – which was won by Jordy Smith last night – until he was eliminated by fellow Australian Adrian Buchan.

Wilson, who posted the first perfect 10-point wave of the event on Saturday night, recorded a two-wave total of 14.90.

But it wasn't enough, with Buchan registering 16.77 to beat Wilson by 1.87 points.

The result was Wilson's best of his rookie world tour career and has shored up his spot in the world rankings.

He needs to be within the top 32 at the half-way mark of the tournament to retain his card and was 16th heading into the fourth event of the tour.

Smith beat Australian Mick Fanning in a close final, which was contested in driving rain and strong winds.

Smith (15.60 points) just edged out Fanning (14.83) to record his second straight title at his home event.

Smith's best wave was an 8.60, while Fanning's was an 8.00.

But there was a controversial exchange, where Smith scored a 7.00 and Fanning a 6.83.

Joel Parkinson is leading the tour rankings after making the semi-finals, where he was eliminated by Fanning.

Smith beat Buchan in the semi-finals to earn his spot in the final.

Originally published as Wilson falls just short in Billabong