CULBURRA Beach’s Owen Wright capped off a stunning Fiji Pro, as he scored a perfect 20 in an emphatic win over fellow Australian Julian Wilson in a lopsided final.
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In powerful six-to-eight foot barrelling left-handers at Cloudbreak, Wright logged two perfect 10s from the five World Surf League judges late in the decider on Tuesday, to claim his second career championship tour title.
On Monday in round five, the goofy-footer from Culburra Beach became just the fifth surfer to score a perfect 20 in his win over Adam Melling.
His final heroics means he becomes the first surfer to complete two perfect 20s at the same event and joins Kelly Slater and Joel Parkinson to record the feat twice.
Wright was sodominant that his next-best score was a cracker too at 9.60.
Sunshine Coast's Wilson was all at sea, posting scores of 3.17 and 4.67 in a disappointing end to a day, where he pipped Brazil's Italo Ferreira in the quarter-finals and West Australian Taj Burrow in the semis.
"Oh man... Wow!" said an ecstatic Wright, who leapt from sixth to third in the season standings after five of 11 events.
"Something special was happening out there and I just loved it.
"I can't believe it, to finish with a couple of 10s, is amazing."
Wright's only other win on the top-tier championship tour was at the Quiksilver Pro New York in 2011.
"That's a dream come true right there," he said.
"To win here, I haven't won a contest for a long time, man it feels good.
"I've been doing a long of work behind the scenes and watching the top guys closely.
"Gabby Medina [reigning world champion and defending Fiji Pro champion] is a huge inspiration to me.
"I've done two trips to Tahiti already this year and I think that's where the barrel-riding's come from."
On the way to the final, Wright defeated Flores 16.93 to 16.57 in the semis after earlier accounting for a below-par Joel Parkinson 16.60 to 12.84 in the quarter-finals.
Shoalhaven scooped both the men’s and women’s competitions at the Fiji Pro, as Gerroa’s Sally Fitzgibbon won the women’s event.
PERFECT HEATS IN WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY
2015: Owen Wright (AUS) twice (round five and final) - Fiji Pro
2013: Joel Parkinson (AUS) - Oakley Pro Bali
2013: Kelly Slater (USA) - Volcom Fiji Pro
2011: Jeremy Flores (FRA) - Billabong Pro Tahiti
2008: Joel Parkinson (AUS) - Billabong Pipe Masters
2005: Kelly Slater (USA) - Billabong Pro Tahiti
1996: Shane Beschen (USA) - Billabong Pro Gold Coast (three perfect-10s)
Follow these links to videos of Wright's rides:
https://vine.co/v/eeIIWMKgEXD
https://vine.co/v/eeIYKTE31iu
