Australian Molly Picklum has secured her spot in the World Surf League end-of-season finals despite falling just short of being crowned J-Bay champion.
Picklum ousted eight-time world champion Stephanie Gilmore in the J-Bay quarter-finals before edging world No.1 Carissa Moore in a thrilling semi-final to secure her spot in Wednesday's final.
The 20-year-old, who is in her second season on the Championship Tour, took it up to Lakey Peterson in the decider, with both surfers pulling off a series of stunning rides.
But it was Peterson who came up trumps in the tight contest, the American winning 14.77 to 13.50.
Despite the loss, world No.4 Picklum did enough in South Africa to lock in a top-five spot in the rankings and secure a maiden berth in the WSL title showdown in California in September.
Her success is in stark contrast to her rookie season last year when she missed the mid-season cut and had to work her way back via the Challenger Series.
"Last year, at this time, I was in Ballito (a Challenger event in South Africa) trying to challenge my way back to the tour," Picklum said.
"Now, being up in the world (rankings), making final five, making finals here, it's such an honour," she said.
Gilmore slipped to seventh in the rankings, meaning she will need to pull off at least a semi-final appearance in the last WSL event of the schedule - the Tahiti Pro - in order to secure a spot in the end-of-season finals.
Peterson's first win since 2019 lifted her from eighth to sixth in the rankings.
"I want to dedicate this to my sister in law Bridget Allen, who we lost a year ago," an emotional Peterson said.
"This is for you Bridget."
Peterson was thrilled to secure the J-Bay crown after such a long drought between CT wins.
"It's hard sometimes when you feel like you're in a rut," she said.
"You've got to keep showing up. I love J-Bay, and it loved me back today.
"I'm pretty proud of myself. It's my third final out here, so third time is a charm.
"And to share it with Molly was incredible. She's such an incredible beast. A great surfer and a really great friend of mine."
Picklum was a gracious loser, giving Peterson a series of hugs in the water while the American was processing the emotion of securing her first CT win in four years.
Earlier, Peterson ruined the chances of an all-Australian final by beating Tyler Wright in the semi-finals, 11.47 to 10.00.
Wright was lucky to make it to the final four after surviving a huge scare in her quarter-final battle against Gabriela Bryan.
Bryan needed to score 5.34 on her final wave to overtake Wright's two-wave tally, and the Hawaiian notched 6.27 to take the lead.
With just 10 seconds remaining, Wright set off on a wave needing 5.27 to win.
She pulled off a series of strong manoeuvres to secure a score of 5.60, clinching the win 12.93 to 12.60.
