Moore downs Aussie teen in final

But the win came only after a tight final against Aussie rookie Tyler Wright.

Moore grabbed the lead in the opening minutes of the final with a near-perfect score of 9.17, then used her priority to steal a wave from Wright.

A second wave score of 6.17 and a 15.34 total was enough to win the final against Wright, whose best scores of 7.20 and 7.17 wasn't quite enough to catch the Hawaiian.

For the 16-year-old Wright the result was a stunning start to her rookie year on the world tour, which opened with a win over four-time world champion Stephanie Gilmore in the first round.

Gilmore was then eliminated in the quarter-finals by Sydney's Laura Enever, who went on to lose to Wright in the semis.

Defending champion Gilmore put her elimination from the first event of the year down to mental stress rather than problems with her wrist.

Gilmore was eliminated by Enever 15.67 to 12.50 in the first event since her wrist was broken when she was attacked by a man wielding a metal bar outside her Tweed Heads home unit in December.