DYLAN MOFFAT AND MOLLY PICKLUM WIN NORTHERN BEACHES OPEN.

Dylan Moffat (Narrabeen) and Molly Picklum (Shelly Beach) have taken out the Northern Beaches Open – the final stop on the Australian Open of Surfing series – today following a giant day of action in picturesque four-foot North Narrabeen conditions.  
 
After three runner-up finishes and one-third place finish in previous Australian Open of Surfing events, Dylan Moffat (Narrabeen) went one step further today, taking top honours on his home break. Following a perfect ten-point ride yesterday, Moffat continued to notch up a series of giant scores and bookended a fairy tale run through the series with the win over fellow North Narrabeen locals Kai Warner, Jordy Lawler and Cronulla junior star Jarvis Earle who claimed second, third and fourth respectively.
 
“This is surreal to be down here competing at home and having the waves turn up for the last event on the series. I’ve had to pinch myself to see if it’s real,” said Moffat. “The ten-point ride yesterday was the first ten I’ve ever got and getting all those runner-up finishes in previous events really fired me up and I was super pumped to take this out. That final was like a North Narrabeen Boardriders final and usually, Jordy and Kai end up beating me in those, so all I wanted to do was to get a win over them here this time.”
 
Molly Picklum saved one of her best performances for last smashing the punchy lefts on offer in the Open Women’s final. The Central Coast dynamo, opted to sit closer to the shore and pick off a series of punchy lefthanders which were duly rewarded with a handful of impressive scores amounting to a 15.90 two-wave heat total. Local Narrabeen surfer and former World Championship Tour competitor Laura Enever put on a valiant performance and remained within striking distance of the win, but was unable to find the required 7.31 to take away Picklum’s lead. The victory shot Picklum to the runner-up on the Australian of Open of Surfing series leaderboard behind Cedar Leigh-Jones who claimed the overall top position.
 
“The waves began to cook through the later stages of the event and some of the waves on the inside bank had so much potential,” said Picklum. “I knew Laura would try to get one of those long trademark North Narrabeen waves, so I figured I’d try and just focus on my own gameplan and try and get my scores further down the bank. This series has been awesome and I think it ultimately helped all surfers prepare for the run of WSL Qualfying Series events that’ll take place next year.”
 
The prime locations for Northern Beaches Open was North Narrabeen with backup locations of Collaroy, Dee Why, Long Reef and Curl Curl.
  
The entire Australian Open of Surfing series features eight events that will take place in the latter months of 2020 and provide professional and aspiring surfers with the opportunity to win prize money and gain momentum going into 2021.
 
Each event in NSW will see a total $7000 prize purse with $1500 going to the winner of the Men’s and Women’s divisions.
 
In addition to a larger prize purse, all events on the Australian Open of Surfing series was be webcast live through surfingnsw.com.au and the Surfing NSW Facebook.
 
The 2020 Australian Open of Surfing series will see events in:
Sunshine Coast, Qld – 19th – 20th September 2020
Gold Coast, Qld – 31st October – 1st November 2020
Cronulla – 8th – 9th November 2020
Port Macquarie – 14th – 15th November 2020
Kiama – 22nd – 23rd November 2020
Coffs Harbour – 29th – 30th November 2020
Far South Coast Open – 5th – 6th December 2020
Northern Beaches – 13th – 14th December 2020
 
All events adhered to strict COVID-19 policies and regulations outlined by the Australian Government and council protocols.
 
The 2020 Australian Open of Surfing NSW Series is proudly supported by the NSW Government through its tourism and major events agency, Destination NSW. The event is also supported by Destination Kiama, Coffs Harbour City Council, Sutherland Shire Council, Port Macquarie Hastings Council, Eurobodalla Shire Council and Northern Beaches Council.
 
RESULTS:
Open Men
1 – Dylan Moffat (Narrabeen)
2 – Kai Warner (Narrabeen)
3 – Jordy Lawler (Narrabeen)
4 – Jarvis Earle (Cronulla)
 
Open Women
1 – Molly Picklum (Shelly Beach)
2 – Laura Enever (Narrabeen)
3 – Sarah Baum (Newcastle)
4 – Alysse Cooper (Manly)
 
Australian of Surfing Series Leaderboard
Open Men
1 – Dylan Moffat (Narrabeen)
2 – Kalani Ball (Stanwell Park)
3 – Joel Vaughan (Bateau Bay)
 
Open Women
1 – Cedar Leigh-Jones (Avalon)
2 – Sarah Baum (Newcastle)
3 – Molly Picklum (Shelly Beach)