If there was any further proof needed that Connor O’Leary was destined for greatness then this was it.
The Cronulla surfer made history on his way to finishing runner-up at the Outerknown Fiji Pro last week, becoming the first Cronulla surfer in more than a decade to make a World Surf League final and the first as a rookie since Richard Marsh in 1987.
The 22-year-old rookie barely put a foot wrong in just his fifth Championship Tour event as he was edged out by fellow Australian Matt Wilkinson in the final.
It was a whirlwind couple of days for O’Leary who, sitting in 15th place in the CT standings heading into the event, earned his first straight-to-round-three result when he took down Ian Guevara and Sebastian Zietz in round one.
It was in round three that he made the surfing world take notice, scoring the biggest win of his young career so far in eliminating 11-time world champion Kelly Slater.
O’Leary then saw off fellow rookie Joan Duru of France in his quarter-final to set up a semi-final against former world champion Joel Parkinson.
But O’Leary lifted again and, with a superior wave selection, he put together a well-structured heat with a bit of luck and smart use of priority to outscore Parkinson 15.4 to 8.6.
That set up an epic final against Wilkinson, with O’Leary earning an eight-point ride on his first wave as conditions started to deteriorate. He hyper-extended his knee when he hit the reef on his second wave hunting an extra second in the tube.
The lead changed hands a number of times with O’Leary in front with three minutes to go before Wilkinson pulled out an eight, leaving O’Leary with priority looking for a wave that never came – Wilkinson winning 16.6 to 15.7 to take the tour lead.
O’Leary said he was “stoked” after the final having jumped into the CT top 10.
“It was a good final, back and forth and we put on a good show,” he said.
“Wilko deserved the win. He made the final last year and surfed really well. I’m going to Bali now to train with my coach (Luke Egan) and then onto Ballito (Durban) to defend my QS victory last year.”
