Margaret River's Jacob Willcox has put in a stellar performance at the Rip Curl Pro at Bells Beach, Victoria.
The young West Australian made it all the way to the quarter finals of the main event after winning his way there through from a trials competition.
Willcox's backhand attack was on show in the long right handers with a huge swell hitting the famous surf break for the final days of the competition.
After growing up and training in the large surf of Margaret River, he was comfortable in the powerful surf of Bells Beach and nearly progressed in the quarter final but was narrowly defeated by only 1.11 by eventual finalist Filipe Toledo from Brazil.
Contest organisers were calling it a 50 year storm swell reminiscent of the classic surf film 'Point Break' with competitors enjoying some serious size in the swells and there were a number of snapped boards in the process.
Hawaiian John Florence stomped his authority on the contest once the waves got big and was unstoppable in the finals with big scores and a great win for the two time world champion who is coming back from injury throughout 2019.
After dominating in picturesque Bells conditions, Courtney Conlogue (USA) rang the coveted Bells trophy for her third time.
"What an event! I went from being out of rhythm with the ocean to the ocean being in the kind of rhythm I enjoy," Conlogue said.
"I was trying to contain my 'grom froth' watching the waves all day. It feels incredible to get another Bell, they're not easy to come by.
"Every single Bell has its own special path and journey that got me it and this one was definitely an amazing one to win."
Conlogue defeated fellow Californian Lakey Peterson (USA) in the Semifinal and went on to meet Malia Manuel (HAW) in the Final where she earned the year's first Perfect 10 to secure her win.
The World Tour now moves to Bali and then down to Margaret River from the 29th May to the 9th June which is a different time of year to normal, but should result in some large swells. Willcox will have the opportunity to continue his career best results with possible entry into the Margaret River Pro and his home break and shake things up on the world stage.
Forecast
Perfection on Thursday with ENE winds and a new 2m groundswell running up the coast. Friday might be ok early with winds from the north and a smaller 1.5m swell while the weekend sees the winds turn NW which might bring in some wind swell into Geographe Bay. Hotspot: 3 Bears
