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The ASP World Tour wrapped up its only Mainland
U.S.A. stop on Saturday, as the Hurley Pro Trestles finished in lackluster two
to three-foot peaks on the last day of the event’s waiting period. And although
World Tour ratings leader Joel Parkinson bowed out in Round Three to feral soul/
wildcard Rob Machado, CJ Hobgood, Damien Hobgood, and Kelly Slater — who
were all ranked in the Top 10 coming into the event — all failed to
capitalize on the opportunity to make up ground in the heated 2009 title race.
Sitting only 1404 points behind Parkinson at the
beginning of the Hurley Pro Trestles, world #2 CJ looked to have the best
chance at giving Parko a run for his money. But Ceej got off to a slow start,
finishing 3rd in Round One to ‘CT rookies Kekoa Bacalso and Marlon Lipke before
bouncing back in Round Two to down Lipke with a solid 15.84. In Round Three, CJ
netted a 13.50 to best Aussie Luke Stedman, who surfed his first event of the
2009 season after a particularly nasty foot injury. But another rookie spoiled
Ceej’s comeback, as Tahitian Michel Bourez dispatched the 2001 ASP World
Champion by a narrow 12.83-11.96 margin in Round Four. CJ’s equal-9th finish,
matching his worst of the year at J-Bay, dropped him to #4 in the ASP World
Tour ratings.
Damien Hobgood, who rocketed to #5 in the ratings
after a 2nd-place finish at J-Bay, avoided the elimination Round Two by barely
squeaking by Hawaii’s Dustin Barca and Australia’s Drew Courtney in a
wave-starved Round One heat, winning with a dismal 7.27. In Round Three,
Damo narrowly defeated Portugal’s Tiago Pires, 15.10-14.73, but in Round Four
Damien lost to on-point Brazilian Heitor Alves, 14.16-12.27. Unlike his
brother, Damo’s equal-9th didn’t hurt his rating, as he maintained his #5 spot.
The only East Coaster to move up was nine-time World
Champion Kelly Slater, who in between winning the 2009 Surfer Poll and
appearing on NPR’s “Wait Wait… Don’t Tell Me!” provided the talk of the
competition’s early rounds, riding a staggered-stringer board with carbon
strips implanted in the middle to stunning effect. Kelly lodged a massive Round
One-high 18.50 in his heat with Adrian, telling the ASP in a post-heat
interview “Today was definitely more like Florida and less like California.” In
Round Three, Kelly responded to Parko’s loss by dissecting wildcard Brett
Simpson in the very next heat, mixing flawless aerials and electrifying carves
to score another round-high 16.83. “You definitely think about [Parko’s
elimination] — it’s impossible not to — but you can’t let it change
the way you approach the heat,” Slater said. “You still have to go out there
and win. That goes for the world title as well.”
Kelly looked like he had a chance to do just that,
downing Kekoa Bacalso 12.83-12.50 in Round Four before throwing Heitor Alves
off his game with a 13.84-8.17 quarterfinal defeat. But in the semifinals,
Slater came up against eventual Hurley Pro Trestles champion and new World Tour
#2 Mick Fanning, who earned the richest prize purse in ASP history ($105,000)
by surfing with a passion and recklessness even Kelly couldn’t counter. “I
didn’t go out there with any sort of game plan,” Slater said. “I was just
trying to feel it out and I kind of read it wrong. I wasn’t really feeling it
today anyway. Someday you feel it and you’re on and sometimes not.” But the equal-3rd
finish was Kelly’s second-best result of the year, helping him move from #8 to
#6 in the World Tour ratings.
So with CJ, Damien, and Kelly now sitting at #4, #5,
and #6, respectively, all eyes turn to the whirlwind European leg of the tour,
with the Quiksilver Pro France, the Billabong Pro Mundaka, and the Rip Curl
Search in Portugal running nearly concurrently over the next month. Stay tuned
to EasternSurf.com to see if our East Coast contingent can put real pressure on Parko as
the 2009 ASP World Tour season enters its final home stretch.
For full results, photos, and video, visit www.TheHurleyPro.com or www.ASPWorldTour.com
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