Wehner, who runs Broulee Surf School, won the event at Duranbah Beach in North Tweed with two near-perfect waves in the final.

He scored an 8.65 and 9.65 from his only two waves of the final, leaving him in a unique situation.

"The other guys were so far off the pace that I got to relax a bit," he said. "I just waited patiently out the back and let the other guys panic. It was a very strange feeling."

Wehner said the final couldn't have gone much better.

"I haven't had a heat like that in a long time," he said. "I got the two best waves and the two best scores.

"You usually have a battle for the best waves, but the ocean was my friend that day.

"As a general rule, if you're on the best wave and not falling off, you're a good chance, and I got lucky."

Wehner is expecting to be invited to the 2020 World Titles after beating some high-quality competition.

"There's a lot of ex-pro surfers, and I had two high-level pro surfers in the final four," he said. "One was Jay Phillips, and the other Jake Spooner.

"I competed against those guys for many years, so it was definitely top competition.

"I'll be invited to the World Titles next year as the winner of my division, I just have to wait on the details. They're usually held in South America, so I'll figure out if that's something I'll do."

Wehner said this was the first competition he'd won in almost 15 years.

"I've been competing since the age of 13, and I had a fair bit of success at the professional level in my 20s, but this is the only Australian Title I've won," he said. "This was an amateur title, but it's the first contest I've won in 15 years, so it's been a while.

"I'll probably retire as a surfing instructor down the track, but I like competing when I'm motivated, and this year I had a bit of interest."