Irish-Australian surfer Glenn Hall competing at the Mr Price Pro competition at Willards Beach, South Africa, last weekend. (Pic: ASP/Kelly Cestari/Mr Price)

Irish surfer Glenn Hall has surged up the world rankings, after beating America’s Nathaniel Curran to win the Mr Price Pro competition in South Africa last weekend.

Australian-born Hall, 30, holds an Irish passport through his grandfather.

Hall held his composure throughout a 35-minute final to snatch the win from America’s Curran.

Nicknamed ‘Micro’, Hall made the decision to surf for Ireland in 2009 after returning from a back injury to find himself without a sponsor.

“It’s the biggest win of my career by far, I kinda felt like if you got the wave out there you could get the score and I was just praying for a wave at the end,” Hall said afterwards.

“Nathaniel is an amazing surfer and I was pumped to have a final against him. It was always going to be a tough heat but I’ve learnt never to be content with second and to always push for more until you’ve won.”

Hall’s victory sees him rocket from 27th to 16th in the Association of Surfing Professional (ASP) world rankings.

The rankings show that Hall has won $81,300 in prize money this year.

Hall said he was happy that he had opted to compete at the ASP Prime Mr Price Pro Ballito rather than the Billabong Pro J-Bay, which runs until Sunday on South Africa’s eastern cape.

“It’s still a long road ahead and I’m just going to keep trying and see where I end up,” he said.

“I’m not doing JBay (6 Star) and I’m proud of my choice. I came here and put all eggs into one basket because if you are here to qualify its about the Primes. That’s my focus so I’m taking it to the next event in America.”